The Original
by IrateWritreviewer
Summary: The new world called upon the Four Heroes to save their world from their impending destruction. While three of them were newbies, the fourth, Naofumi Iwatani, is experienced, as if he's been a Shield Hero from a hundred years ago. Armed with new powers that can alter/cheat his entire combat style, the world will know if he is here as a hero, or a condemner. (This is an AU)
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

**I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_The dunes of white sands were blown by the harsh scorching winds, across endless miles of nothing but sand. The blistering heat near the horizon's edge can make one's vision distort and blur, as the endless stretch of desert sunlight gave no mercy to any unfortunate being who could not reside in its harsher environments. The probability of an animal unsuited for living in a desert, much less a human, is close to zilch..._

_But the famous saying goes: 'There's always that one person...'_

**.o0o.**

Within a discreet cavern, deep within the desert, therein lies a man sleeping on the floor. Long-growing black hair flowed down, not as a smooth, royal mane like a lion, but like a unkempt nest for pigs. His clothes were the definition of weathered until it was no more: badly tattered tank top shirt that used to be a two-layered sweater, ripped discoloured baggy pants the length of short shorts, and boots that would be mistaken for sandals. In his sleep, he mumbled and grumbled, until he felt the hot air and grains of sand brush his face. His internal clock forcing him awake, the messy man slowly got up and stretched, getting all the knots and cracks out of his body. Standing up on his two feet, he finished up the stretching from the cave grounds he was resting in. Walking to the nearby cavern oasis he was residing inside, he leaned over, cupped his hands, and taken a big sweet slurp of its refreshing water.

"Auhhhhh..." His throat moisturized once more, the man did a few more last minute stretches, his body trying to regain his posture from sleeping on the ground. Thankfully, he was used to it for the longest time, with no bad cramps to last him a lifetime. Looking at his makeshift camping area, the man only stared at it in a despondent manner. It was kind of like a home, made for bums, but that was how he had to survive for the longest time, and he sadly did not have the time to change that.

"Another day to train, another way to occupy my time…" He declared to himself, the same thing he has been declaring to himself for the longest time. With that said, he began to strut out into the light, his hands brushing against the wall. All over the wall were countless tallies, marking how many days has he been in this desert (he lost count after reaching the thousands). Packing himself his supplies, like water, a carved walking stick made of ironwood, and a cloak, he began to venture out into the white-hot desert, breathing in the same scorching air that has filled his lungs for years, seeing the same environments, and fighting the same mobs that were at least numerous levels higher than his was.

Yep, same ol' routine for Naofumi Iwatani in the infamous Desert Prison, where one can lose their way for all eternity. In other words: a slow and painful death.

**.o0o.**

The desert heat was second nature to his unaffected skin, as he trudged through with no problem. Despite his aloof and eyes trained forward, he was quite alert, listening hard, feeling the shifting sands gently moving around his feet like a sea of sand. The footsteps behind him disappeared behind him, the sand gliding in the wind filling the spots. It wasn't very long, before he felt a shift and a rumble, but he wasn't panicking. In fact, he smirked, expecting the company, as he readied his stick.

A slight rumble later, an explosion of sand erupted around Naofumi, who smirked even wider as teeth appeared all around the man from the sand. Soon, the jaw snapped shut, with the man inside, as a giant sand worm launched itself out into the air, satisfied with the prey it has captured… until it felt abhorring pain within its system. Suddenly, its neck was sliced off, and blood and worm innards gushed out of both sliced ends, with a blood-covered Naofumi jumping out of its mile-high body. The stick he was holding glowed, as he was holding it like a blade, and then disappeared when Naofumi landed on his two feet.

"Gotta try harder than that! I've slain so many of your brethren, it's easier to kill you than breathe!" He laughed, rolling his neck, almost like it was a game to him. The worm, of course, did not respond, as it just flopped to the ground, unmoving. Sniffing the rancid blood, the man smirked, feeling the earth quake underneath him. "Here they come!" From the smell of blood, many more monsters came out from the sand, or galloped their way towards the slaughter, from sandworms, gryphons, giant scorpions to even ancient golems the size of kaiju monsters. All of them looked at the little Naofumi, who smiled viciously at the game that rushed in. His stick manifested into a white flaming shape of a sword, much like a **Swordsman**. "COME AT ME!"

The worms came at him first, all of them jumping him all at once, and a resounding crash and explosion of sand appeared. Their target was not in their grasp however, as Naofumi was in the air, creating an even bigger collision on the sandworms, resulting in a large shower of blood erupting. Some of the worms had various cuts appeared on them, but many others were simply sliced up into dead meat. Their bodies falling onto the ground, their titanic sizes causing massive dust clouds to form.

Landing on one of their corpses, Naofumi noticed the air shifting as a giant foot of stone appeared, ready to stomp on the man. Shaking his head, the man began to wind up his 'sword' swing by spinning it around, but suddenly, his 'sword' began to change shape into a **Warrior**'s 'two-handed axe', held in one hand. Right as the golem's ginormous foot landed on the man, he gripped his 'axe' and swung The golems looked up and brought their arms together, firing ancient runic magic towards him, but the man dashed left and right in the air, before bringing the axe down. Immediately, the golem was cleaved in two after a second of momentary silence. "CMON!" He made a battle cry as he dashed from golem to golem, spinning like a hurricane of steel, cutting up his stony opposition into dust.

Suddenly, a scorpion appeared from underneath the sand, gripping him with his claws. Many more brought their tails up before stabbing where Naofumi was in a frenzy… until they realized that they were hitting on essentially nothing except sand. Hearing the wind shift in the west, the scorpions turned west, seeing Naofumi shaking his head in disappointment.

"Come on. You guys were much more of a dangerous opponent the day before." The man belittled from the other sand dune. Apparently, he disappeared through an afterimage. The **Warrior**'s 'axe' disappeared, and instead a 'shamanistic warding wand' formed in his hands. "If you're done, you can have a taste of your own poison." Blue runes appeared around the man, as he chanted an incantation to a spell. "**A drop of insanity, a pinch of malaise! Upon thy verge of death shall bringeth a hellish landscape! Blight!**" With two hands, he stabbed the ground with his 'wand' stick, and the sand began to change and transform. The sand became a bloody red swamp, leaking the foulest poisons, with the scorpions mindlessly charging through the swamp. The moment they touched the enlarging toxic fen, the poisonous liquids began to take effect, as the putrid and befouling sludge sank into their carapaces. Soon, they slowed down more and more, and suddenly stopped, as their shells and flesh melting away into nothingness. Still, Naofumi had to give them credit for their determination: they valiantly tried to reach for him even on the verge of death. The giant scorpion corpses finally disintegrated from the poison eating them up into nothing, with the caster smirking at his work. Pulling out his staff from the same, the swamp disappeared, leaving on the rest of the monsters afraid of the man who has taken care of many of their numbers without breaking a sweat. However, Naofumi wasn't having their fright take effect.

"What's wrong?!" Naofumi taunted them, his 'staff' now transforming back to a regular stick. "Aren't you gonna try to claim this prey?! Afraid of a little man?!" He continued emphasizing the 'little'. **Taunt** was one of his many skills after all. The little **Taunt **seemed to take effect as the other monsters roared in response, angered at their prey for even evading them for so long.

_**CRASH!**_

A resounding crash was heard from his back, but the man did not even faze, flinch or get knocked about. He only smiled. A gryphon, the size of a house, tried to dive him beak-first, as fast as a jet plane breaking the sound barrier, yet it was like hitting an unmoving diamond wall. Repelled, the gryphon cawed in pain, its beak and other possible head bones as it was blown back a hundred metres away.

"Didn't they teach you manners in monster school?" The young man taunted, as the wind propelled his cloak upward to reveal a light metal shield, with a cracked red jewel, on his back.

"I'm the Shield Hero, and I never die." Indeed, his health has not gone down one point, due to his defenses being so astronomically high. His stick transformed into the shape of a **Machinist**'s 'gun'. Taking aim at the gryphon, he fired one single bullet, destroying the gryphon into a bloody carcass in one shot. A giant hole, where the head and torso used to be, was present from where the bullet went through. The rest of the desert kaiju-sized animals, now fully falling for the **Taunt**, all charged towards the man, now hungry for more. "CMON!" His battle cry resonated, as he brought out his stick into the fight of the ages once more.

**.o0o.**

"**Occultist** class, finally mastered." Naofumi stated, taking a deep breath from the smell of blood and dead animal rotting the air. Fires were burning the bodies away like nothing ever happened the next day. Cycling through his stats on a HUD menu on his shield, he glanced and smirked at his achievement. "Heh, I guess that's every class truly mastered to its fullest. I'm glad I broke through my own Shield that day." Naofumi commented to himself, seeing his own stats and the amount of 9s he has gotten, almost like a rich snob's checkbook.

**Naofumi Iwatani; Shield Hero Lv Max**

**HP: 9999**

**MP: 9999**

**SP: 9999**

**STR: 9999**

**VIT: 9999**

**DEX: 9999**

**INT: 9999**

**WIS: 9999**

**LUK: 9999  
**

Indeed, his level didn't have a number. It just said Max. He didn't know how long ago he got to Max Level before... or maybe he was already Max Level when he entered the desert. Smiling at his achievements, from his maxed out stats, his perfect skill setup and his list of all the known jobs with stars on them, it felt good that he got this far. How he got those 'jobs' you may ask?

Simple. Break the game.

**.o0o.**

_"Damn you! Damn you all!" Naofumi screamed into the air, slamming his fists onto the sand. The deed against him was done. He now had nothing. No more friends. No more livelihood... Everything has been taken away by traitors. All he had with him now was the clothes on his back, a walking stick and his... Legendary Shield. The man continued to scream in despair, even when nobody was nearby in the middle of a scorching desert. He can only scream for so long, before he began to beg for water and his own survival. Picking up from himself, he hobbled across the desert, in a vain search for water._

_It took him at least a day, but one could consider him the luckiest man alive, circumstances before notwithstanding, as he reached a dark cool cave, with an oasis with clean fresh water. The man drank from the oasis like a starved pig, then laid on the wall of the cavern, trying to get his head back into gear, with little success._

_"Why... Why them of all people...?" His mind shifting into their last meeting with each other. All he remembered was a scream, a sighting of someone dead, the killers hovering over her and taunting him... and then nothing. The pain he had suffered was unbearable, with reality not easing his heart. The man could only cry once more... and look at his own Shield with anger._

_"You... It's all your fault..." The man snarled out, his breathing becoming more laboured. Grabbing a lone rock, the man bashed the rock onto the Shield, continuously, specifically at the green gem fixed into the slot._

_And he did it again._

_And again._

_Again._

_Again._

_Again._

_"Stupid Shield!" He yelled, slamming the rock harder and harder on it. Tears rolled down the man's eyes. "It's all YOUR FAULT!" The man continued to slam his own Shield. There was no visible damage, but slowly the damage was starting to show._

_"If it wasn't for you...!"_

_The metal had a small dent._

_"...they would have been reformed!"_

_The gem began to form a small crack._

_"If it wasn't for you...!"_

_The gem shook once more._

_"...She would have been still alive!"_

_One final smash on the Shield, and the gem cracked once more. Suddenly, Naofumi's eyes widened as eldritch light and ancient powers escaped out..._

**.o0o.**

When he woke up, all he knew was that he felt... different. He felt a lot more lighter on his feet, while the Shield had a different coloured gem. Didn't help that there was a crack on it, but long story short, by shifting through his HUD, Naofumi realized that he had, what the new Shield calls, the Job System, which allows him to access different jobs, like a **Swordsman**, a **Warrior**, or anything that can be conjured up, and it all came with different stats, abilities and the ability to use _weapons_. Using his walking stick, he can transform it into different weapons, learn different skills and transform on the fly, incredibly useful in combat.

Granted, it was not easy at first. While he did transform into a **Swordsman**, he was much more frailer, as the **Shield Hero** was now a separate class. Which means he was a lot more vulnerable now, especially against these malformed beasts that roamed the desert. The first kill he got took an incredibly long time, but it was definitely worth it (EXP and all for that separate class). And soon, as time passed, the man trained multiple jobs, acquired after either reaching a certain threshold of levels (there was another way, but the HUD blurred it out for some reason), leveled them up to a level where he could be considered a master, and learned many different types and styles of combat.

A shame that only he could enjoy it, and nobody else, but it at least took his mind off of what was ailing him right now.

Naofumi's smile dropped, heavy feelings of despondency ran deep inside of his heart. Sure, he could feel proud of himself, but for once, he wished that someone would feel proud of him. He hasn't had companionship for a long time... and it really was a long time for him. Resting inside of the desert cave, the man reflected on how his life came to be. How his family started, how it disappeared, and how his future plans crumbled into dust. The status disappeared, not mattering to him anymore. Naofumi then took out an old rugged photo, sighing and smiling at it in a melancholic fashion. What was shown was a campfire, with him smiling with his party of best friends and loved ones, most of them consisting of humans with animal traits called demi-humans, or full-on anthropomorphic beasts called beastmen. All of them had a happy time...

"If only you were here to enjoy those accomplishments… if only I didn't lose you all years ago..."

He could hear their jovial laughter deep in his memory. Sure, he hasn't seen them in a long time, but he still remembered all of their names, along with the circumstances on how they met. Those days... he wished he could re-experience them again...

The sun completely set, the world now in perpetual darkness. The coolness of night finally kicked in, as Naofumi wrapped himself in the cloak, and falling into a deep-...

He saw light. Naofumi stood up, alert at what he saw, as green runes appearing underneath him. The man shook his head: something like this never happened before. As he tried to step back, he felt an invisible wall appear, with no escape from stepping on the rune. "W-What...?!" Naofumi looked about, realizing what kind of spell it is:

"**Teleportation...?**"

Suddenly, a huge aching pain erupted on his arm, as if the Shield itself weighed a ton. Dropping the Shield, along with his arm surgically attached to it, he could feel his strength leaving him, almost like a starved leech. Widening his eyes, he could see all the power he has obtained, from the EXP to even all the Job System, collapse and be absorbed into the jewel of the Legendary Shield. Everything he has achieved in his solitude, years or even decades of hard work are now down the drain. "W-What the hell?! What are you doing, damned Shield?!" The man shouted, but it fell on deaf ears as the gem seemed to fix the crack by itself, along with the dents and scratches on the metal. The light began to spiral, as the rune consumed the man, his last words being: "WWAAHHH! WHAT'S GOING OOOOOON?!"

And soon, the Shield Hero vanished without a trace against his will.

* * *

**That's right, I'm editing this story heavily. Not gonna lie, I actually starting to not like my writing style, especially the early chapters. It was mainly due to not having a good identity on what I wanted to write about. I mean, we all had that kind of problem: We know how the beginning and end will go, but not the middle? Yeah. So this time, now that I established an identity on this Naofumi (because I have no beta-reader, cuz I'm a shy man but plz hit me up if you are a beta-reader), I can reorganize and reintegrate some elements and remove some that are dumb.  
**

**This will take a long time, no doubt, which means that the next chapter will have to be held for another time. Thank you for your patience.**

**AGAIN, ******THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****


	2. Chapter 2: History Won't Repeat

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! ******(12/11/2019)****

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_Years prior to the last summoning of the Four Heroes, the world was in complete and utter shambles, from kingdoms and villages ravaged by war, to the citizens mourning from the unleashed rage of political superpowers. From the world war, the Heroes have followed through with what must be done: to combat the Waves of Calamity. However, it was the methods and circumstances that led to three of the four heroes becoming the pure antithesis of what a Hero of this world meant. It was a great struggle, as the lone Hero of the Shield, who followed his sacred duty to fight the Waves, also fought in the world war against three kingdoms that each hero represented. But in the very end, he prevailed, stopping the Wave and preventing a worldwide catastrophe, despite the body count and his near death knell._

_It saddens me that the hatred for what the Shield represents will never be quenched..._

_\- Final concluding passage of "The Histories of the World War" Final Volume_

**.o0o.**

"Fantastic! The summoning was a success!"

Those were the first words Naofumi heard as he struggled to get up. The man never felt so sluggish and drained in his entire lifetime, or at least as far as he could remember. As hie opened his eyes, he saw the green glowing rune below his feet. The man felt like he has been through a long unwinding vacuum, and ended up inside a large dark room, the summoning rune lighting the room up with a tinge of green. Shaking his head, the man's eyes widened at the sight another human being in a long time. Rather, a group of cloaked summoners and mages were in front of him smiling, seeing that their ritual was a complete success. Naofumi, in contrast to them, didn't really know what to do or say in front of him. And yet, from all of this, the entire thing seemed too familiar to him, process and all.

"Hey! What's all this?"

One voice beside Naofumi interrupted his thoughts, as his head turned around and met three other individuals, one with long golden hair wearing red, one with short black hair in blue, and one with short curly blonde hair dressed in what seems to be a school uniform. All three of them each had a weapon in their hands, something that Naofumi narrowed his eyes upon: a spear, a sword, and a bow.

"Please, O brave heroes! Our world is in dire need of your help! Won't you please heed our call and save us from pure evil?"

Naofumi slowly stood up, but fell back down onto one knee. His whole body felt heavy, the strength that left his body from the initial teleportation made his body stiff. The three others did not notice his state, but they responded nonetheless.

"Save you? What do you mean from that?" The holder of the Bow asked, wanting clarification on what this 'pure evil' is. As the head summoner began to explain how it was too difficult to explain it in full, Naofumi began to tune out, beginning to recall what exactly was going on. He was summoned as the Shield Hero... again. There were three others here that were assigned and locked into three other weapons: the sword, spear and bow... again. And Naofumi was already beginning to hate them...

"That doesn't excuse you from taking us away from our homes without our consent."

"Not only that, but say we do follow through with your pleas. You would probably have discarded us like nothing."

"I'm guessing you're willing to accommodate us, seeing as if your world is at stake. We may end up as your enemies instead, depending on your answers of course."

...seeing as they are taking all of it in stride, demanding rewards and respect, qualities that reflected the past Heroes and brought their downfall... _again_.

Naofumi only shook his head, not wanting to be part of this at all. What was really bogging him down however, wasn't the other three heroes or the people inside, but that he was summoned as a Shield Hero. This man, believe it or not, felt completely split on that decision. On one hand, he had to go back to society, lest he goes completely bonkers in that desert, but on the other hand... this wasn't what he wanted. He did not want to be the Shield Hero again due to the circumstances from the past. He did not want to be summoned to aid another kingdom again. What kingdom this was, Naofumi did not know, but somewhere in the back of his head, he felt like he wasn't ready for the answer. Slowly getting up, his strength recovering at a snail's pace, the man realized that the others were all looking at him, as if they were ready to go.

"Hey! You coming?" The spear wielder called out to him in a friendly manner, but almost in a cynical manner, considering that the man holding the Shield looks like a bum and probably hasn't showered in forever. Luckily, Naofumi didn't take the hand. Now finally standing up, he looked at the holder of the Spear, then the head summoner.

"Hey. Tell me something. What kingdom is this?" Naofumi asked, his voice sounding gravelly and rough.

"Oh, this kingdom here is Melromarc. The wise King wishes to have an audience with the four Cardinal Heroes."

That made Naofumi's blood run cold. _'M-M-Melromarc?! Of all places?!'_ The man gasped, forgetting how to breathe for a few seconds, falling onto his knees.

"W-Whoa! Hey! Are you okay?" The others called out to him, wondering if he's sick. "Take it easy... Don't rattle those old bones of yours."

"Shut your mouth." Naofumi breathed out. "I'll catch up. You just... summoned me in a bad time." Sounding like he was in pain, or in a coughing fit, the others shrugged while the head summoner tried to object.

"Nonsense, young Shield Hero! Come, the King only wants-!" He tried to appease to the man, but the others waved it off.

"Let him be." The sword wielder told them. "Let the old hobo come up when he wants." Everybody else seemed to take that, and walked up the stairs, leaving the bearded man alone. As the last echoing of the footsteps disappeared, the man slammed his hands on the floor, rage nearly peaking within.

"Damnit...! Damnit!" He cursed, unable to believe that he was summoned to Melromarc of all places. This kingdom was one of the nations he has fought against decades ago, and now he's expected to fight for them?! And not to mention, why are the other Cardinal Heroes being summoned in the same place? That would just have Melromarc make enemies of nearly all of the nations... So many questions rang through his head, with the only plausible logic being:

_'It could be a goddamn plot...'_

...Or he was just being paranoid. Years have passed. There was no way the world around him hasn't changed at all. Melromarc might be a different place (last time he checked, it was). However, he wasn't going to the king. There was no way he could trust the Melromarc royalty. Instead, the man decided not to see the king, but take a different, more scenic route.

He was long overdue for some new clothes and a big ol' shave.

**.o0o.**

It didn't take a lot of time. Rather, the man simply walked up the staircase and, seeing as nobody was there (they were probably all in the audience chamber with the king, Naofumi thought), the man simply walked out of the front gate. No guards were blocking the gateway, seeing as the only simple way to open the gate was from the inside. Thankfully, Naofumi was inside, and simply went to the outside with a pull of a lever. As he walked through the maze of homes and crowds of people going about their business in the late morning, the man felt strangely happy and nostalgic, while also being alert of what was around him. It was a strange feeling, watching and dodging people once again after so long. Speaking to others, especially those men and mages underground, felt near alien to do. He had to get back into the groove of speaking, however, as he-.

"Ow!"

The man stopped, as he felt someone collide into him: a young noble lady in a fancy dress. The man widened his eyes, cursing himself for not looking where he was going. "I-I'm so sorry." The man bowed his head and offered his hand to help her up, but the woman slapped it away.

"Watch where you're going next time, you dirty vagrant!" The woman harshly rebuked, patting away her dress before storming off. Naofumi only narrowed his eyes in disgust at her attitude... before looking at himself. The man smelled terrible!

"Inn first..." Naofumi told himself... then stopped himself. He remembered that inns cost money. "Selling something first for money and clothes. THEN the inn." The man continued to walk, digging into his pockets for what he could sell, until he remembered that the spoils of monsters were enough for at least one night at the inn, and he had stacks of ninety-nines of those countless items, from the golem shards to scorpion stingers. Pulling out one of the gryphon's feathers, he began to notice more stalls that were more commercial appearing. _'Now to look for someone I can pawn this feather off of.'_ Hoping to see whom he could pawn something off to, he noticed a merchant with a weird necklace of a bow, spear and sword taking in monster spoils and giving the sellers cash.

"There... I should probably close up early! The Four Heroes are said to-!" The merchant told himself, but stopped his cleanup as his eyes laid on what seems to be a hobo with too much dirty hair and too little clothes. Naofumi felt a little odd, having the man stare at him, silently judging him, before the merchant huffed and looked away.

"I do not do charities to vagrants. Now scram!" The merchantile man shoo'd the Shield Hero.

"N-No! That's not what I am here for!" Naofumi corrected him, and pulling out a shiny giant feather, the size of feather quills and headgear feathers for archers and bards. "I am here to sell these. I saw one of your customers give you money in exchange for monster spoils, correct?" The merchant's attitude did a one-eighty as the sight of the feather, as dollar signs appeared on his eyes

"Y-Yes, I have. However, where did you get those feathers?" The merchant stuttered at the sight of the golden feathers, making Naofumi look at the side for a second. There was no way he was going to be ousted and denied, so he thought up a lie quick.

"I-It was a... a d-dear gift... from my deceased family. I have kept it close for two generations, but I am at my last legs for finances." Naofumi played the somber old man, looking down in faux sadness. "So I must ask... how much are you willing to pay for this golden roc gryphon feather?"

"G-G-Golden roc gryphon feather you say?" The merchant stammered, seemingly at awe at the feather. Naofumi seemed to take note that there was some significance to the feather. The merchant then tried to reach for it, but Naofumi pulled the feather back.

"Price and gold first." Naofumi demanded, trying to not show the Shield surgically attached to his arm. He was very close, as he wanted to make a pay-up motion with an outstretched hand, but if they saw him with the Shield, who knows that the man would do, especially after getting a good look at the necklace he was wearing. _'There's a Sword, Bow and Spear, but no Shield?'_

"W-What do you mean by 'gold' first? I would pay fifty silvers for it." The merchant protested, but Naofumi pulled the feather back even farther.

"Be a more reasonable businessman. This feather clearly has a significance to you and many other merchants, doesn't it?" Naofumi rebuked.

"Are you mad?! Anybody who lives for money hopes to have a golden roc gryphon feather to symbolize their succession as a member of high society!" The merchant chattered. "Nobles would sell their entire fortunes just for one feather!"

"Then it's clear what sort of price I want." He demanded. "1000 gold."

"W-Wha-?" The man pointed the feather at the merchant, who was close to frothing at the mouth.

"Your choice. Take it and be part of the high society or leave it and stay with your poor, sand-rat scraps. What will it be, merchant?"

**.o0o.**

"I guess money really does make the world go round." Naofumi muttered, walking off with ten large bags of coins in his possession, along with a set of clothes he has gotten from a nearby tailor. He remembered the merchant was crying and laughing at the same time, almost as if he paid nearly his entire yearly earnings for the feather. "But it was just a feather... I guess people have gone more crazier with items and fads over the years."

As he walked into the inn, the man noticed that there were quite a few people prepping what seems to be a celebratory party. Foods were lined on a table as bards were getting ready to perform. Fortunately, they were still open for service, as the innkeeper noticed the man walking up, and smiled. "Hello, sir. Will you be liking a room?" The innkeeper asked, and Naofumi nodded. Dropping his clothes and money in the bag (he couldn't store it in his Shield out in the open), he picked inside and pulled out twenty silver coins and placed them on the desk.

"One night, please." The man requested, but caught the innkeeper staring at his right arm, which was hiding the forearm with the Legendary Shield attached to it. "I lost my hand, and the wound is still fresh. No way am I going to be showing it to anybody here."

"O-o-oh right, sorry about that, sir." He nodded, before giving him the key. "Your room is labeled with a one."

"Does it come with a bathroom?" Naofumi asked, and the innkeeper nodded.

"Yes it does. We at Melromarc Inn wish to provide patrons with the services and utilities required to stay for nights on end. We hope you have a pleasant stay."

"I see. Thank you." The man nodded in thanks, but also wondered what the occasion was. "E-Er... one more thing I wish to ask."

"Yes?"

"What are you setting up food and music for? Is there gonna be a party?"

"Oh, yes, there is! We are hoping that the Four Cardinal Heroes, or at least one of them, could stay., for it would be the highest of honours, housing a Cardinal Hero for their quest."

The undercover Shield Hero chuckled bitterly at the optimistic innkeeper's inability to see the irony in those words. "Heh. Well, I wish you the best when they come." Naofumi bid farewell to the innkeeper, who smiled and bowed in response. Carrying the key and his bags of money and clothes, the man hobbled upstairs, doing his best to hide the Shield behind his back and under his cloak from any sort of eyes. Finding his assigned room, he opened it, and saw a standard room with potted plants, tables, chairs, two beds, and a bathroom with wooden tools that could help get anybody clean.

"Finally..." Naofumi closed the door behind him, locked it up, and began to get cleaned. It was going to be quite the heavy duty scrub and snip.

**.o0o.**

"What do you mean you... _lost_ him?" A bearded King, wise and taciturn, didn't look so wise, as he sputtered in his throne. Doing his best to keep calm in the whole situation, he could only look in disbelief and exasperation as the head summoners and mages, who had their heads on the floor and their bodies hunched into a bowing stance, could only feel shame rising as they could only say:

"Forgive us, Your Highness."

"Hey, don't blame them. We... kind of told them to leave the Shield Hero alone, to have him go up on his own pace." The Spear Hero spoke out in defense, the Bow Hero and the Sword Hero looking away a little from their actions before. Nearly everybody, save for the two otherworldly Heroes, looked at them incredulously.

"S-Seriously, Lord Motoyasu?" One of the Spear Hero's party members, a pink-haired girl in a green mage outfit, said to him perplexed at his choices. Motoyasu simply shrugged.

"He was an old man, Your Highness. You can't rush an old man up flights of stairs, since he told us that he was summoned at a bad time." The Sword Hero added, which made his newly formed party tilt their heads in confusion.

"W-Wait, an old man? As the Shield Hero? Lord Ren, please tell us you're joking!" A priest girl in Naofumi's party felt her jaw drop from that statement, but Ren only stayed silent. The Bow Hero began to ponder about the Shield Hero that he saw half an hour ago.

"It wasn't a joke." The Bow Hero stated to the priest girl. "The man looked, and smelled, like he hasn't been in a shower for years. Maybe even decades. I feel sorry for him."

"Fuee~! That's so sad...!" A green-haired girl gasped at that fact. Many of the nobles and knights took in that information: that apparently one of the Heroes that was summoned... is an old frail man. That immediately caused bedlam to erupt: nobles speaking to each other, many of them dreading the circumstances. However, there were some that were cheering, something about how the Shield Hero being a frail target is a good thing... The three Heroes raised their eyebrows at them, wondering what they were on about.

"SILENCE!" King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII demanded, quieting the public through his voice. The King only gripped the bridge of his nose, both in horrid disgust at the incompetence of his mages, the loafing about from these batch of Cardinal Heroes, and the ridiculousness from the situation regarding the Shield Hero's identity as an old smelly fart. However, a little voice in his head was telling that probably wasn't the case, and that the old vagrant of a Shield Hero is probably lost in town or in the castle. "From what has transpired here, I never would have thought that the summoning of the Shield Hero could produce such a result. While I wouldn't wish for a Hero to be an old unclean vagrant, we cannot choose who we summon." The old wise king announced, many of the nobles nodding at his logic. "As such, I still wish to have an audience with him. Heroes, we know that you are tired, but I implore to you to find the Shield Hero and bring him to me." The three wielders looked at each other, thinking that this was their first quest, and a good early reward waiting for them in the end, and nodded to the King.

"Right."

Looking at his knights with authority, he stood up, and all of them, save for a few who snapped to attention a second too late after ogling the Three Cardinal Heroes, stood to attention. "Knights! Support the heroes by searching for the vagrant Shield Hero, both in the castle and in the town!"

"YES SIR!" The knights saluted their king, before marching off. The three Heroes looked at each other, deciding that they should go and follow up with that quest, seeing as it was the best time to go exploring the town for some goodies. Once they finally left, closing the doors with a huge bang, the King only gave an exasperated sigh. His calm eyes beginning to reflect what his true nature against the Shield Hero is.

"To think that the Shield Hero we summoned this time is an old beggar." He thought out loud with such venom in his tone, standing up, contemplating on the situation. "But perhaps this will be better for me in the long run. The world does not require a Shield Hero, especially one like him."

**.o0o.**

"Ahhhh~! That... was heavenly!"

Naofumi stretched his arms as he exited the bath, feeling completely refreshed. A good shave and haircut later, and he felt like a new man. His hair, while still very rough around the edges, had a nice black sheen on it. His chin felt absolutely different, weird at first, but the aftershave felt amazing. His skin required a whole lot of scrubbing, but in the end, the skin that felt like bark on a tree now looked like the skin of a decent human being. Dressing up in a bark brown tunic and pants, he began to sit down on the bed, something he has missed for a long time.

"I miss this... Civilization..." He had to admit, there was no place like civilization. Feeling the comfort of a soft springy mattress underneath, Naofumi took comfort with what he had, despite the location of the inn. But now, there wasn't any time to waste. Lying on the bed, he pulled out his Shield, and began to inspect his HUD... and his face twisted in disgust as he looked at his own stats.

**Naofumi Iwatani; Shield Hero Lv. 1**

**HP: 1000**

**MP: 200**

**SP: 500**

**Attack: 1**

**Defense: 100**

**Speed: 30**

**STR: 25  
**

**VIT: 50**

**DEX: 20**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 30**

**LUK: 25**

"Level one... So they really have gone down to zilch..." Naofumi muttered in a peeved tone, seeing the jewel on his Shield now green instead of red. No more Job System. No more maxed out stats. Instead, they were completely fresh, like a newbie, and Naofumi hated that. All of the accomplishments he has achieved in the past were now gone with the wind, and the man let out a groan. There was no way he could attack and grind by himself anymore, as the strength stat was now a measly one. With Melromarc as it is now, especially when he just left the dumb King of Melromarc hanging, he couldn't trust anybody to be his party member.

Sure, it could be his own bias against Melromarc, but he can't help it. This place was the kingdom he has fought against years ago, but now they looked to be back on their feet, something that the man did not like.

So what was Naofumi going to do? There was no way he could just skip town easily to fight the Waves of Calamity, especially when he's underleveled like this. There also seemed to be no demi-humans around either, which really made him suspicious. Maybe demi-humans weren't welcome? Or perhaps something even more sinister...?

The man shook his head, and got up. Seeing as he had no real choice, the man could only do one thing to even stand a chance: break the Shield again. Picking up his now empty sack, the man gathered up his belongings and exited the doorway. However, Naofumi stopped himself as he saw the pointed end of a spear around the corner, leading downstairs.

"Excuse me, have you seen an old hairy smelly bum with long messy hair?" Motoyasu asked the innkeeper, who looked excited at the sight of the Spear Hero entering inside.

"Long haired and smelly? I wouldn't call him a bum since he had a huge sack of things, but the man in room one had long and messy hair."

That made Naofumi's heart skip a beat. Looking left and right to see an alternate exit, he spotted no other doors... except for the back window in his room. When Motoyasu walked upstairs and opened the door to Room One, all he saw was a messy bed and an open window.

"Hello?" He called out, looking left and right. Walking around, he noticed the bathroom door was open. Looking inside, all he saw were used scrubs and sponges on the floor, and a lot of long discarded hair in a basket.

Outside, Naofumi slipped away from the shop, avoiding any eyes from the public, while trying to not look suspicious. He had his arm and Shield wrapped with the leather sack, trying to pretend that he was covering an arm that was just cut off. It looked a little awkward, but nobody was batting an eyebrow. Plus, with his new looks, the knights never suspected a thing. However, with just a tunic on his body, he needed something more... protective around his body, if he wanted to venture out into the gates. Thankfully, there was a blacksmith just up ahead, and Naofumi gingerly opened the door. Inside was a wooden standard-looking shop, with weapons and defensive armours on the walls and stands. A bald bearded man was at the counter, smiling at the customer.

"A customer! Welcome!" His gruff tone welcomed him in, which made him smile. He seemed like an honest salesperson, compared to the merchant before. "Looking for a good weapon?" His easy smile brought Naofumi into a smile as well, as the Hero looked around, eyeing his merchandise.

"No, but do you have any armors? Or shields?" Naofumi asked, curious on what's available. That got the man's attention.

"Of course! Take a look!" He said, his arms presenting the shields and armors. All of them look modestly prepared and well-kept, but Naofumi wasn't looking for quality. Seeing the jovial man smile at him, he felt more comfortable to present himself. After all, this man looked to be, while tough, a kind-hearted blacksmith. So Naofumi began to unravel his leather sack, revealing his Legendary Shield, while grabbing a Bronze Shield off the shelves.

"H-Hey, that Shield..." The blacksmith faltered at the sight of the Legendary Shield, before it glowed in his hands, changing shape into a Bronze Shield with a green jewel in the center. "W-Wait, did you just-?!"

"Don't worry. I will pay you now if you wish." Naofumi promised, pulling out a handful of gold coins, fifty to be exact, and placed it on the counter, before beginning to copy the other Shields he had. The blacksmith only frozen and widened his eyes at the sight.

"W-Wait, you... you're the Shield Hero, aren't you?" The blacksmith marvelled, with Naofumi hesitating a little... before nodding. He knew he can trust this man, despite living in Melromarc. Blacksmiths normally have bias, but his jovial tone made Naofumi want to trust the man.

"Yes. Please, don't tell anybody I'm here. I'll pay more if you keep your lips sealed." Naofumi pleaded, with a head bowed to the floor. He didn't know if he needed it, but the blacksmith smiled happily.

"No need! Anything you want, Hero! Just name it! Just for you, or my name isn't Erhart, town blacksmith!" The blacksmith named Erhart offered, which made Naofumi smile. "Heck! I'll even show you some new cloaks too!"

"Thanks, but no Hero praises or change required. Just call me Naofumi." This blacksmith, Erhart, has obviously been proven useful and an honest businessman. Scanning all the shields in the shop, grabbing some standard, but good steel armor, a bracelet, and a green enchanted cloak to conceal more of his identity, he began to exit.

"So, going to an inn? The sun is setting after all." Erhart asked, which made Naofumi stop in his tracks.

"Errr... No. I'm heading out to the fields. Can't waste the daylight. I have to train."

"Alright! Come again someday! I'd love to talk with you again!" Erhart called out and waved, with Naofumi smiling under the beard and nodding, as he closed the door. Letting out a breath, he remarked that it went better than he expected. Taking a look at the shields he has gotten, he cycled through them.

_**Leather Shield**_

**+5 Defense, +10 DEX**

_**Iron Buckler**_

**+15 Defense, +5 STR and VIT**

_**Tower Shield**_** (NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)  
**

**+35 Defense, +20 VIT, -8 DEX**

**_Cover:_ ******Tethers to up to two allies. Transfers all ally damage over to the user. Can't work when both are far apart.****

_**Round Shield**_** (NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)  
**

**+18 Defense, +8 STR, VIT and DEX**

**_Awareness_:**  
****The user is immune to critical hits.****

_**Blackguard Shield**_** (NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)  
**

**+13 Defense, +10 VIT and INT**

**PASSIVE: Mindful (+25% Spell Resistance)**

**_Reflect:_  
******Bounces any and all magic spells from the target back to the caster.****

_**Spike Shield**_** (NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)  
**

**+5 Defense**

**PASSIVE: Sharp Steel (Reflects 10% of contact moves back to the user)**

_**Pulsating** **Thorns:**_**  
Bounces any and all physical attacks from the target back to the user.  
**

_**Steel Shield**_** (NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)  
**

**+25 Defense, +15 VIT, +10 STR and DEX  
**

_**Wall:  
**_**Erects invisible barrier in front of the user. Not powerful in terms of defense, but capable to create many of them.**

_**Silver Shield**_ **(NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)**

****+15 Defense, +5 VIT, ********+15 LUK****

****PASSIVE: Werebane (20% increased damage and ********20% decreased damage taken******** on werewolves and other transforming monsters.)****

****_Perseverance:_  
Passive regeneration of health per second.****

_**Mudstone Shield**_ **(NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)**

**+40 Defense, -15 Attack, -5 STR and DEX, +25 VIT**

**PASSIVE: Earth Ward (All Earth-elemental Damage lowered by 10%)**

_**Repel:**_**  
******Expels a force that knocks back all enemies and objects around you. The longer it charges, the more force used.****

_**Fencing Cloth Shield**_** (NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)**

**+5 Defense, +35 DEX, +15 LUK**

**PASSIVE: Riposte (50% increased Parry Rate)**

_**Shield Bash:  
**__****Knock the enemy with a shield to stun them for a good duration.****_

Those defenses and other stats were astronomically beneficial, and the benefits from them, like Blackguard Shield's defense against magic, the Round Shield increasing his agility, the Fencing Shield's ability to parry and stagger, the Spike Shield enabling him to reflect physical damage back, and the Tower Shield rose his stamina quite well, along with being the best with physical defense.

And those passive abilities and new skills. He knew that he needed the proper shield equipped in order to use them, but once he has gotten enough EXP (which was not much to begin with, thankfully) he can use them whenever he likes. Nodding to himself, the man continued to stroll along, hiding his Shield behind his cloak, but he noticed knights running about, asking if they have seen 'an old vagrant infidel whose has a Shield with him'. Seeing them run around like chickens without their heads, Naofumi rolled his eyes at their antics and approached the gate. However, it was locked tight.

"Sorry, sir. We cannot let anybody in or out, not until the Shield Hero is found." One of the guards bowed his head in apology. Naofumi wanted to refute, but decided to leave it as is.

_'Great... I guess around or above will have to do...__' _Naofumi uttered his thoughts under his breath as he walked along the castle town walls, a good distance away from the two guards, planning how to get out. Both of them paid him no mind, as the raven-haired man was no trouble at all. However, the two armoured fellows then noticed a trio of knights running to them.

"Captain? What's wrong?" The second guard asked.

"You! Have you two seen the Shield Hero as of late?" The Captain of the Juvenile Knights demanded, but the two guards shook their heads.

"N-No, sir! We have not seen an individual with a Shield!" The first guard denied.

"Damnit... How are we supposed to find a supposedly elderly hairy vagrant now?!" The Captain growled out in frustration, until one of the knights, a young teenage knight with brown hair under his helmet, spoke up.

"Wait... Captain, what about the mess of long hair in the bathroom? At the inn?" He reminded the Captain, who slapped himself in the forehead.

"Not now, Private..." The man shook his head, before he spoke up. "Oh right! That mess of black hair! He must have shaved off his beard and head. How could I have forgotten?" The Captain unwittingly taking the idea of one of his privates, the others rolled their eyes while the private tried to save something... but stopped, clamming up.

"Wait, black hair..." The first guard muttered, before remembering Naofumi. "Oh! We saw one young man with black hair just a few minutes ago. He wanted to leave the city, which we did not allow, so he just went that way, alongside the walls, sir!"

"Oh perfect! Quick, men! Find the Shield Hero!" The Captain commanded, and he and the other knight began to run nearby the base of the inner walls of the city. The Private The two guards saw the three men run off into the alleyways, before focusing back in guarding the door.

"Huh... At least the Captain was right about one thing..."

"What's that?" The second guard asked the first one.

"I don't think a 'supposedly elderly hairy vagrant' would fit as a Shield Hero."

"I can kind of agree, but why can't it ever be a 'supposedly young busty amazon' as the Shield Hero instead? All we get are young guys."

"I... don't think it works like that... but it would be amazing to watch that 'amazon' train, wouldn't you say?"

"Ohhh yeah... I can almost imagine it now. Defending against monsters with nothing. Just completely nu-. GYAARGH!"

"Huh? BLAAUGH!"

The two gossiping guards cried out, as heavy barrels crashed into them, knocking them out cold, courtesy of the Shield Hero. Knowing that the other knights are going to be checking what the noise and commotion was about, Naofumi had to act quick. Running to the drawbridge's mechanism, he pulled the lever, and the gate was lowering down... VERY SLOWLY. The sounds of clacking footsteps began to sound more audible, as the man did not have time to wait around. As the drawbridge reached forty five degree angle, Naofumi had to hop onto the drawbridge as it descended, just in time to hide himself, as the other knights and the Captain to spot the two knocked out guards.

"W-Who could've...?!" One of the knights murmured as he checked on the unconscious guards.

"Was it the Shield Hero?!" The Captain, noticing the drawbridge lowered, only facepalmed, running out onto the drawbridge to look left and right, searching for the man they were looking for. Things just got a whole lot harder for the knights.

**.o0o.**

On the fields, Naofumi slowed his sprint down to a jog when he realized that nobody was following him at all. Slowing down to a full stop, the out-of-breath man bent over and gripped his knees, his beating heart calming down. Seeing where he is right now, the man began to notice he wasn't far from the castle at all. He was actually on the Western wall, with nothing except grass and a long tree he can hide behind. A few Orange Balloons tried to come and bite his face, but he simply swatted and ignored them, using his new Spike Shield to have them hurt themselves as they continued to attack. Looking around for what he can use, he was about to wander off farther away from the castle until he noticed a weird arrangement of rocks. Looking at it oddly, he then remembered one of the hidden unspoken rules that stuck out in his mind.

_**If there's a mysterious sign, puzzle or a weird circle of rocks, then there is a reward waiting, assuming you know the incantation!**_

Arriving at the circular area of small rocks, the Shield Hero stepped just before the circle. Trying to remember what it was inside, the man scratched his head. What was it that was underneath here...? Was it a treasure? A safehouse? He didn't know, but the incantation was something he still remembered from the bottom of his heart. Pressing both of his hands on the circle itself, he began to say an incantation. "**Latent truths and destructive lies, unbind thee by your keepers and reveal thyself unto thy world!**" The circle glowed, revealing a magical sigil on it, before crumbling into dust, revealing a staircase. Cautiously, he went down the steps, the exit covered back up with another layer of grass and rock.

'_Heh… I still got it!'_ He cheered to himself inwardly, although it cost him a very huge chunk of his mana. After all, if you know the incantation, then you know the spell, no matter what. But if you weren't part of the same class or job as the spell's category (like a black magic spell cast by a priest, or a healing spell cast by a spellcaster), then it would cost a lot more mana.

In essence, he wasn't supposed to cast any of these spells, but he remembered these incantations by heart, and by God and any other deity out there, he wasn't going to let them go to waste!

As he walked down, he noticed that there was light coming from the bottom of the cavern. "Ya know, I should do it here... It should be deep enough, that it becomes quiet on the surface." Naofumi noted, bringing out his trusty ironwood walking stick. It may be a stick, but it ain't no weapon. It's at least something he can wield. Today was the only day when he could do it. Risky, but if he so desired the power from before to emerge once more, then he's got no choice but to do it now. He knows that the Shield Hero's original moveset is, while robust, inconsistent and powerless. The rule was: he had no choice but to rely on others to kill for him. So with this method, not only will he be able to defend himself, but he would be able to fight for others as well. Not just defend. He wasn't going to let a damn rule keep him out again.

Soon, he arrived at what seems to be not treasure or a safehouse, but a keep. More specifically, an underground sanctuary, with the cleanest waters coming out from a fountain and ornate decorations of a temple underneath. A statue of a big white puffy winged filolial, which was a bipedal bird mount, was in the center of the fountain. It just stood out more, in contrast with the dark damp underground cavern aesthetic. It was much more serene to even be in its presence, hearing the running water soothing one's insecurities. Kneeling on the fountain's edge, he took a small handful of its waters, and drank it.

"Incredible... and refreshing..." Naofumi smirked, feeling his mana restore back quickly. Looking around, the man explored the sanctuary, which only consisted of the fountain, and what seems to be a tribute box, with a plaque as the lid, in front of the fountain. Going up to it and opening it up, the man saw what seemed to be five vials of a mysterious liquid. "These... these are..." Naofumi muttered, examining them, and then widening his eyes at the liquid's properties the HUD was talking about.

**_Hero's Elixir of Life_ (DIVINE quality)**

**Completely restores HP, MP and SP, triples Max HP, MP and SP, triples your stats, and powers up your attacks temporarily.**

The man nodded, impressed. "Who could have made these elixirs...?" Naofumi asked himself, before looking at the plaque and reading the lid.

**Dedicated to the fallen rebels of Melromarc during the World War against the Queen of Melromarc XXVIII, the Tyrantress.**

**May we never forget the rebels who sided with the Shield Hero.**

"World War... I remember now..." He frowned, offering his respects to the rebels, before closing the compartment. Pulling out his stick as a weapon (The Shield doesn't know that it was a weapon... yet), the man sat down on the far ends of the sanctuary. Readying the Hero's Elixir of Life, he popped open the cork, took a deep breath, and filled himself with resolve. "Here we go!" Placing the shield down, and grabbing his stick, he chugged one elixir… completely restoring and tripling his reserves of HP, MP, and SP, and exploded in temporary power!

'_I know it's risky, but this is what I gotta do!'_ He then grabbed the stick with his free hand, and shouted his incantation. **"Spirits within, hear my call! Spirits without, taste your fall! For the bridge between the heavens and hells shall be formed with these very hands! Light Ferry!"** The spell was a buffing spell, enabling the stick in Naofumi's hands to violently glow dangerously. Lightning and holy light flowed inside the stick, empowering it to a violent degree. Soon, it was forming into what seems to be the shape of a sword: the same sword that felled those worms in the Desert Prison.

"NOW!" And then he struck. Right at his shield, specifically, against the green orb lodged in there. The sanctuary violently, as it felt like an earthquake. Rocks fell from above, hitting some of the foundations of the temple, but that didn't stop him. The light kept repelling his blade, but he knew he was making a dent, and that was all he wanted.

**WARNING:**

**Attacking and destroying your own shield can result in your own Legendary Weapon and its perks being lost!**

Those warnings kept popping up, but that wasn't stopping Naofumi. Images of his past kept coming up as the force increases twofold, until…

_**Crack…!**_

"THAT'S IT!" Retracting his stick and throwing it on the ground, he then pressed on the jewel with his own hand and sent his own energy inside. Replacing and remaking the functions of the jewel from the Divine to his own, ancient green magicks kept flowing out, while Naofumi's red energy flowed inside.

"You won't take my power away!" He screamed, ingesting another elixir, and pumped in more energy inside. The magnitude grew twofold, as the earth was literally shaking. Nobody knew where that earthquake was coming from in the surface, but Naofumi wasn't caring one bit.

**ALERT:**

**Many functions will be prohibited, in the name of the Divine. Interfere with the Divine's contract, and you will suffer the consequences.**

Soon, the jewel emboldened a pure crimson red colour, but now the final and most deadliest phase was in existence.

"_**HRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!**_" Chugging yet another elixir, he began to mend the crack of the jewel with his own power. He didn't need a spell that would do it, or else it would either counterbalance the jewel on the shield, or simply bounce off. No, all he needed was pure power, whether it was from his HP, MP or SP.

**DANGER:**

**You are risking potential death from altering the functions of the Hero's Shield. You do not know what you are doing.**

Naofumi wasn't paying attention to the warnings. He knew what he was doing, and he knows it's dangerous, but it didn't matter. He did it once in the Desert Prison, he could do it again, and this time he wasn't going to play by their rules.

A final burst of power shook civilization, as the Melromarc citizens were frightened in terror of the red pillar of light that erupted from nearby their walls. Motoyasu, who was hanging out with his female party members, looked out the window to see the pillar, and had his jaw drop to the ground. Ren and Itsuki, who were gathered their own things in the inn, saw the pillar as well. The King stepped back in horror as the pillar of red light made the night sky crimson.

Even Erhart, the blacksmith, could only fall to the ground on his ass from gazing at that pillar, his thoughts lingered to his own customer Naofumi.

And soon, the light died down and the pillar dissipated. Many citizens wondered what that was, with the knights panicking on what exactly that was. Within the pillar, Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at his work. A metal shield, with a crimson jewel, instead of green. His eyes becoming heavy, he grabbed his shield and lied on the walls of the ruined sanctuary, content with his masterpiece. One singular message popped up on his screen before he passed out, and it made him smirk.

** WHAT**

**HAVE**

**YOU**

**DONE**

**? ? ?**

* * *

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! (12/11/2019)****

**A few things.**

**No, it's not a time travel story.**

**Yes, it took all that effort just to break the game. Even if it was just a minor thing.**

**What did Naofumi alter? Well, he can now switch classes on a whim. That's it. It may sound like it's a minor thing, but this is actually a very major thing. Nobody can change their jobs (unless they have that function and real money may be required) and are stuck with their own weaknesses, but Naofumi can easy cover those weaknesses. The shield's gonna stay with him regardless, so it's still incredibly useful if you're able to weird a battleaxe with two hands, yet still have a defensive shield for defensive means.**

**And that's it! What classes/jobs do you think Naofumi should start with first? **


	3. Chapter 3: The Blame Game

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! ******(12/15/2019)****

**I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_One wise hero has said, "The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion." And frankly, rebellion was not uncommon within Melromarc citizens. Within the years that the XXVIIIth ruled as the domineering queen, most of the subjects viewed her as the supreme queen, capable of subjugating the land due to her immense power, and craved her by following her words and example, using that power to destroy and rule over all. Even the nations of Q'ten Lo and Zeltoble were willing to bend their knee to the might and awe of the XXVIIIth. Adding the fact that she's also one of the most gifted mages the world has ever seen, dominion over the entire land seemed inevitable._

_So what do we extra few, who do not share the same goals or mindset as the masses, do? We plot and rebel. With rebellion, awareness is born, and aware we have become, easily witnessing in disbelief what exactly our people have been doing this entire time. Killing. Pillaging. Spreading terror. All in the name... of a witch. A despot. A tyrantress._

_\- Introductory Passage of "The Seeds of Rebellion", by Sharliya C. Eos, heretic and co-founder of the Melromarc rebellion, the Wild Rose._

* * *

It was now late afternoon. Melromarc just felt an entire shockwave of power, and a red pillar of light shine from above. The citizens feared for their lives when it struck, almost like the world was undergoing the apocalypse. And just when things got worse, it was over. The light disappeared without a trace. The quakes ceased. Citizens only looked left and right, before they all breathed out a sigh of relief.

Outside, the covered hole was completely obliterated, the trees that were caught in the blast, possibly atomized by the blast. Rubble fell onto the stairs, completely blocking the intended entrance and exit, but the hole still remains from the blast that Naofumi's Shield erupted with. From within, rock and rubble completely covered the sanctuary, destroying the serene and soothing haven. The place was completely destroyed, saved for a small amount of spring water left on the fountain. From within, said Shield Hero was slowly waking up after the process.

"Ugh… man… My head…" His groans were heard inside the blocked off caverns. There was only a single source of light on the far roof of the caverns. He didn't really feel so good, and it was so much easier said than done to do that to his own Shield. Perhaps he was a lot more weaker now compared to when he was in the desert, but he didn't feel as heavy as before. In fact, he felt light, but still sore. The man attempted to stand, but promptly fell back down on the wall. "Ow... What time is it...?" The man looked upwards, hearing the very quiet, yet distinct whistles of faraway wind... and the many distant chatters of people over top. He didn't know what they were saying, but it wasn't that they were too far. His ears were ringing quite a bit, but they were slowly going away.

"Wow... that's a huge hole…"

"I wonder what's down there…?"

"That pillar of red light, did it have something to do with this?"

"A new dungeon perhaps?"

"M-Maybe there's treasure down there!"

"I don't think we have rope that long..."

"My Lord, we must train somewhere else. We cannot survive a fall that high."

Slowly, his hearing came back to him. The conversations that were happening up there were still blurry and unclear, but he can manage. Resting enough, the man tried to get up, only for the Shield Hero to flinch and shudder from the pain that shot up from his stomach. _'Damn… Maybe it was because I overdosed those Elixirs…'_ The horrid gagging feeling arose from within, and Naofumi, for a lack of better terms, hurled on the floor, just shy away from his shoes.

"W-Was that a monster?"

"Oh God! With that pillar of light, I don't wanna know!"

Most of the chatter disappeared from up above, thinking that the hurling noises Naofumi was making was the roar of a monster. The man finished vomited out his stomach contents, and spat on the floor to get the excess out. He never felt this way in the longest of times, and it felt horrid. Thankfully, most of it was past, as he stood up straight, passively healing his stamina up. Looking at his HUD, it was more or less the same, except he was really really low on HP, MP and SP, along with the **Brink of Death** status.

**Brink of Death: All stats are lowered by 95% for the next 60 minutes, or unless cured.**

"Wow… that really did a number of me. I guess that it was much easier because I was max level before…" He was able to stand up despite the stomach pains, but now he was basically limping his way through. There was no way he could climb up in his current, but there was a little bit of spring water left in the destroyed fountain of the sanctuary. Bending down, he cupped both hands, dipped his hands inside and drank its contents, feeling the water wash and cleanse his systems, healing his points up to max. "Ahh… much better." The man stood up straight, gave a little stretch to his limbs, and pulled out a few empty vials from the Hero's Elixirs of Life he has ingested. He then dipped them at the last remaining source of the sanctuary's water, and plugged them up with their respective corks. When he finished, the man looked down and said a small prayer. It was a shame that this sanctuary, a monument to the fallen rebels of Melromarc laid to rest, was destroyed...

_'...But it's for the greater good... for power.'_

The man breathed out a sigh, as he turned to the hole at the top. Looking up to the light shining down on his body within the dark caverns, the man scratched his head, wondering how to get up there.

"C-Captain! I see someone!" A young man's voice echoed from above.

"I know, you fool! I see him too! Now how are we going to get him out of there?!" Another gruffer voice hastily concurred, then looked down to get a better look. However, that only proved his downfall as he nearly slipped down to the hole. The two knights gasped before grabbing their Captain and bringing him back to the edge.

"Watch yourself, Captain." The third voice, which belonged to a more mature man, chastised. The three of them looked down once more, this time, more carefully. Now that Naofumi was in semi-perfect condition, he began to walk towards the spotlight from the sun, alerting the three of them above.

"That man in the green cloak..." The mature man's voice mentioned, squinting his eyes. "That must be who the front gate guards were talking about."

"Wait... Then that means..." The younger man's voice lit up in realization, before cheerfully yelling from above to the underground, towards Naofumi. "You're the Shield Hero!"

"Hey there." Naofumi greeted them, which came as a shock to the Captain in particular, who had his jaw so far down, it could probably reach down to the floor where Naofumi was. There wasn't any way to hide that fact that he is, in fact, the Shield Hero in the flesh, but with the new Shield, the man felt a lot more comfortable not hiding the fact that he is.

"W-What in blazes are you even doing down there?!" The Captain, over his shock, quickly got angry and shot forth that question, but Naofumi simply shrugged.

'_Gotta watch out for that one...'_ Naofumi noted, before smiling at them. "Heh, sorry, I kind of fell down here when I got lost. Hope nothing happened while I was gone."

"Y-You fool! Do you know how much of our time was wasted trying to find you?!" The mustached Captain berated the raven-haired man. "We were literally going all over town just to find you, and then we see you outside of the castle and inside a hole!" The young knight on the left put his hand on the Captain's shoulder.

"C-Captain, please! Calm yourself!" He pleaded, but the Captain only swung his right fist at the knight, shooing him away violently.

"SHADDUP!" The Captain growled out. The mature knight grasped the Captain's shoulder a little more harder, stopping the situation from escalating.

"Enough!" That stopped the Captain, who only clicked his teeth and looked back down. The left knight, whom Naofumi was guessing was the innocent one, looked back down, a little hurt from the Captain's treatment to him.

"Done with your little hissy fit?" The Shield Hero called out to the Captain, who only smirked at the growl the tin can man was making. "I was wandering about the town, and before I knew it, I fell down this hole. I don't know about whatever light show you were talking about. Sorry!" He shrugged, laughing a little at himself, hoping that the story would be enough.

"O-Oh, well then let us help you! His Highness is growing impatient! We can try to get a rope long enough for you to climb up." The younger knight asked politely, but Naofumi shook his head.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll find my way out of here!" Naofumi ended the talk, and then began to look at the extra feature he granted himself. A wheel appeared around him, clicking around, seeing various crystallized orbs, with symbols on them, spinning around him. However, there weren't as many before...

**Welcome to the Job System!**

**Here, you may choose another Job to swap to at any given point, and you can level them up. Your weapon and arms can change shape to accommodate your fighting style. However, you can only start with 2 extra classes for now. If you want to unlock more classes, you must learn it through inviting other party members and gaining levels and EXP for those job-specific classes. And don't forget! You can advance your jobs at a Dragon's Hourglass once you reach a certain level! Please choose your first job!**

Naofumi narrowed his eyes at the limitations, but then noticed that he could increase his job count by inviting party members. It was an interesting take, but there wasn't any way to get around those limitations. However, the man found it to be much more practical than ever before. So what was one job he could climb with…? The Shield Hero kept cycling through the job wheel, until one caught his eye. It had the icon of a hood and a dagger pointing downwards through the hood.

**Assassin**

**Be one with the shadows, access any terrain, and slay your enemies in the blink of an eye! Uses daggers, knives, claws and hook swords.**

'_Hook swords!'_ Naofumi smiled to himself, as he selected Assassin to be his new class. He felt a small flash of light envelope his body, and he flexed himself, like a new person back from the dead.

**Naofumi Iwatani; Assassin Lv. 1**

**HP: 500**

**MP: 100**

**Attack: 25**

**Defense: 10**

**Speed: 40**

**STR: 20**

**VIT: 9**

**DEX: 25**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 10**

**LUK: 22**

His walking stick, now glowing to the shape of a hook sword, was then stabbed onto the earthen wall of rocks and dirt, as Naofumi pulled upward and slowly climbed up with it, much like an ice pickaxe.

The other three knights were a little confused to what Naofumi was doing, until they saw a flash, and he began to climb with a stick that formed into a 'hook sword'. "W-Whoa…! How did he do that?" The younger knight watched in awe.

"Incredible..." The other mature knight muttered out, his eyes widening at Naofumi's way of climbing. From the legends, the Shield Hero wasn't able to use any other weapon, so to see him doing that looked... quite unbelievable. The captain, on the other hand, isn't very enthused in the slightest.

"B-B-But how?! The Shield Hero can't pick up and use any other weapon! That's just outrageous!" The captain ranted, his mind clearly unable to handle what he just saw. Soon, Naofumi got back up, with the help of the younger knight taking his hand and hoisting him up.

"It's no weapon. It's a stick. Nothing to it." The Shield Hero smiled, proud of himself while subtly making his 'hooksword' transform back into his stick without anybody looking. Looking at the three of them, he could tell just how distinct they were. The young one on the left, who helped him out of the hole, had chestnut coloured eyes, light brown hair and a boyish face, while also getting a feeling that this young man has high morals. The one on the far right looked to be more mature, with hair on his chin, a strand of hair on his face, sharper gray eyes, and a prominent scar across the bridge of his nose. The middle was the Captain, a tall middle-aged man, blonde hair and a mustache, along with red feathers on top of his helmet, and a cape. Naofumi knew, looking at him, that he had the air of a condescension towards him.

"I'm honoured to have met you, O Shield Hero." The young knight bowed his head, showing his respect.

"I am the same, O Shield Hero." The mature knight too bowed his head. Naofumi only just scratched his head in sheepish embarrassment.

"O-Oh, it's fine. No need for the bowing. I'm just glad someone discovered me down there." The Shield Hero replied, which made the knights raise their head in respect. Once again, however, the Captain was not so enthused. The mustached man pushed aside the young knight roughly, who fell onto the floor, and got up to Naofumi's face.

"I don't know who you are, nor do I care about the praises my private and Lieutenant are giving you." The Captain snarled at the Shield Hero, who only snickered at the immature humour he managed to hear. "But you wasted so much of our time! We're going to bring you to the King, no questions asked!" The man grabbed Naofumi's arm, but was unable to move him, as the Shield Hero didn't even have to try to fight back.

"No."

"EH?!" The Captain sputtered, shocked that the man was denying orders straight up.

"I'm not going with someone who acts like that towards his own privates." Naofumi stated, frowning at the Captain. He didn't want to be walking with someone who thinks out of their hierarchical ass. The private in question widened his eyes in surprise at the defense he was getting, while the Vice-Captain gave a small smile at the Hero.

"Well well. Some respect for the knights." The Vice-Captain remarked.

"W-WHAT?!" The Captain exclaimed, but Naofumi turned around and walked up to the young private and the Vice-Captain.

"I'll go with the more polite entourage." Naofumi slyly sassed to the Captain, who was shocked as all hell.

"F-Forgive us, Shield Hero. But the Captain must come with us." The Vice-Captain apologized, hoping the Shield Hero would accommodate. Thankfully, he does. Simply shrugging, the man began to walk, bringing along the private beside him.

"If he shuts up and behaves in the back, then do what you will." Naofumi spoke plainly, and the four of them began to walk. The private, who walked at the same pace as Naofumi, smiled gratefully.

"T-Thank you." The young private spoke bashfully.

"Hey, look sharp!" His encouraging words gave the young knight some confidence, and he gave him a small smile back.

"R-Right."

At the back, the captain was still seething. But the Vice-Captain looked at him one more time, his eyes telling him to not make things any worse, before the two of them followed Naofumi to the castle town.

**.o0o.**

The walk through the town was eventful but samey. Many of the townspeople have been looking at the man, noticing his Legendary Shield and making whispers that he was the fabled Shield Hero and that he was found. Word on the street can spread fast. Naofumi even noticed Erhart, the blacksmith, looking at him with surprise. Giving a small look at him, the man continued walking.

Naofumi also noticed that the knights, who were continuing their search, laid their eyes on him with his entourage, consisting of one knight, the Vice-Captain and the Captain. They all sighed in relief, seeing as they do not have to go to any more lengths in searching for an old bum. However which was making Naofumi strangely uncomfortable.

"S-So... what do you think of Melromarc so far?" The private asked, a little nervous that he was talking to a famed Hero of all people.

"I..." Naofumi tried to hold back all of his sour thoughts and bias, as he continued to look ahead. "...have no thoughts so far. I haven't seen the other places yet."

"O-Oh... Well, at least it's better than hating this place, right?" The private replied with a polite smile, which Naofumi roll his eyes at the irony there.

"Right. By the way... I never caught your name." Naofumi wondered out loud to the young man.

"Oh, I'm Ake! Ake Rolfe of the Juvenile Knights!" The private Ake introduced himself, with Naofumi nodding.

"Good to meet you, Ake. I'm Naofumi." The Shield Hero offered a handshake, which Ake proud accepts. "How has knighthood been treating you?"

"U-Umm, it's... ooooookay?" The man clearly hesitated, something that Naofumi dug deeper into.

"Not so good, eh? I'm guessing the other knights are giving you trouble." Naofumi turned around and narrowed his eyes at the other knights, with varying reactions. All of them stopped and looked at Naofumi, some of them raising their eyebrows from being found out, the others not really caring. "Hmph. That sucks. I was hoping for someone in the army, who strong and polite, would join me..." Normally that got the listeners guilty, but instead, he was met with chuckles.

"Really? What could a Shield Hero do?" Some of the knights look at each other and laughed at that statement. Ake looked at the knights and Naofumi worryingly, but was surprised that the man in question wasn't doing anything... until he suddenly disappeared. One of the knights, who was laughing the loudest, was one of the unfortunate victims of a green blur, who was kicked from behind and forced on his knees. Naofumi, behind him, pulled his head and upper body backwards into a submission hold, simply with his hands on the man's chin and his foot on the man's legs, preventing him from moving.

"I can do this, along with many other things. Want to find out?" The Shield Hero responded, with the other knights watching the display to flinch at the struggling man, aching from the pain on his back.

"N-No! No no no! I get it!" The arrogant knight cried out, and Naofumi, happy that the message came across, released the knight, and continued to walk. The knights now knew that they shouldn't mess with someone like Naofumi. Ake only stared at him wide-eyed, surprised that the Shield Hero defended himself rather easily in an impressive display of grappling.

"Incredible... That was so incredible, Naofumi!" Ake praised, as the two of them walked ahead. The knights were only too stunned to speak and, without paying any mind, simply accompanied him, now a little on edge at what the Shield Hero was capable of. "How did you do that?"

"Well, anybody can do that, and anybody on the receiving end will find it painful." Naofumi answered as a matter-of-fact. While stats really do matter, especially against monsters, humans can't really handle a shield bash on the face, especially against vital points like the nose or specific parts of the neck. From Naofumi's experience, it always resulted in a bloody nose or at least a recoil. "You wanna learn, right?"

"H-Huh?" Ake spilled out of his mouth.

"Do you wanna learn and become stronger, Ake?" Naofumi offered with a smile. It took a second, but Ake gasped in surprise at the offer: to join his party. It was true, he wanted to be strong and protect others, and Naofumi saw that within his innocent demeanor.

_'Guess there are some good people in this hellplace. Maybe Melromarc as changed...'_

"I-!"

"Could you two _please_ hurry it up?!" The impatient complaint from the Captain interrupted the pair as he stomped up to the front of the line. That made them stop and look at him with raised eyebrows, as the middle-aged knight went on a tirade. "We should have been arriving inside the castle right now, but instead you two are holding us all up!" He huffed out, with a third of the knights agreeing. The second third looked at their Captain oddly while the last third simply avoided eye contact. Even the Vice-Captain sighed from the eccentricity of the Captain's whining. Thinking about it, Naofumi really did want to get this over with. But perhaps, he could have a little fun, playing around the Captain's impatience instead. Looking about, Naofumi realized he was in the commercial district, getting closer to the kingdom, which was something he didn't really want right now. "Right. I'm hungry." The Shield Hero himself declared. "Let's get some food, Ake."

"W-Wait, wha-?!" The young man got dragged to a nearby stall selling fruit and produce.

"H-Huh?! What are you doing?!" The Captain shouted out in disbelief that his order was denied, and seethed in anger once more. Many of the knights didn't know what to think, with Naofumi grabbing fruit and giving money to the seller.

"Just buying food. Problem, Captain?" Naofumi replied calmly between his chews, a smug smile stretching along his face, which infuriated the Captain of the knights so much. His anger getting the best out of him, he drew his sword and aim it at Naofumi's throat, making the townsfolk gasp and stand back, while the knights immediately go on edge. Naofumi, on the other hand, only stayed indifferent.

"L-Lord Naofumi, what are you doing...?" Ake asked nervously, standing back a little, worried about whatever stunt he was pulling.

"Listen, Shield Knave!" The Captain snarled, his nickname making Naofumi furrow his eyebrows. "I don't know what your game is, but I don't think you want to stall and waste my time!"

"Who said I was stalling? And do you really need your sword to emphasize your point?" Naofumi goaded the man, who was about to burst a blood vessel. The Vice-Captain ran up to the Captain, trying to defuse the situation.

"Captain, that's enough." He told his superior, but the Captain shoo'd him back with his free arm.

"BE QUIET! I'm trying to teach this knave here how he should act!" The Captain snarled at his lieutenant. Ake immediately went on the defensive for Naofumi's sake.

"B-But Captain," He began, trying to muster up the courage. "He's a Cardinal Hero! You shouldn't act like that to a Hero like him!"

"He's not my Hero, nor should he be the Hero! I'd rather put him to the sword if I must!" The Captain yelled back, which actually caused quite a shock to the people.

"W-What? The Captain rather kill a Cardinal Hero? That's absurd!"

"He sounds so mean and terrible!"

"Somebody teach that man respect!"

"Damn Knights! I don't trust them at all anymore!"

Half of the bystanders actually argued and jeered at the Captain for being so disrespectful, which made the man look left and right, unable to defend himself against the people. He actually felt rather small right now, a farcry from how he was feeling a few minutes before. The other knights tried to quiet them down, not even daring to pull out their swords or use force. The Vice-Captain only facepalmed at the stupid move that their Captain did to embarrass the knights.

"Captain..." The Vice-Captain grunted, before the townspeople's jeering actually stopped, but their eyes of disdain still leered at them.

"R-Right. Anyway, you, Sir Shield _Hero_..." The Captain spat out, doing his best to keep his own temper in check. "If there is nothing else, then we'll-. Wait, where did he go?" That got all the knights looking around. From where Naofumi was, he seemingly disappeared... until Ake saw the Shield Hero, in the distance, about to-.

**SLICE!  
**

**.o0o.**

Naofumi only rolled his eyes at the sight of the knights argue among each other, as it was much like a comedy on a theatre. Stepping backwards a bit, the Shield Hero thought to himself that perhaps he should slip away into the alleys again, until he saw a carriage, with a knight opening the back door and an ugly and bald robed man in rich noble robes standing nearby, with another necklace having a sword, spear and bow on it. Naofumi actually recoiled on how disgusting and hideous the robed noble man looked. It wasn't actually due to scars, but the man's face was contorted with a permanent wicked smile, with his tongue sticking out perversely and licking his lips for whatever it was inside the carriage, followed with puffed out cheeks and leering eyes that would make any peeping tom green with envy.

"Hey! Outside the carriage! Now!" The knight commanded and two small voices cried out in pain, before walking out. Naofumi only widened his eyes at the sight. A little demi-human wolf child walked out of the carriage, only wearing tatters, and down the little staircase. The noble actually frowned from the sight of the wolf child however.

"This isn't what I ordered, knight...!" The noble's voice sounded slimy and grotesque, his tongue actually retracting for once to show a snarl.

"Ugh. Still inside. Allow me, my Lord." The knight bowed his head before entering the carriage. The wolf child tried to move against the knight, but a purple crest lit up on her chest and electricity electrocuting her. The wolf child fell to her knees in pain, before a cry was heard from within the carriage. Soon, the knight came out, pulling a raccoon demi-human girl from the hair and throwing her out roughly onto the ground. "There she is, my Lord. Although I'm afraid she won't last the morrow."

"Riiiight~. Mmmmm, she looks and smells DEE-licious!" The noble brought his smile back even wider. "But what of the other one?"

"The demi-human child did not wish to leave the slave you ordered, no matter how many times she disobeyed. Therefore, this one will come with you."

"Acceptable. Now c'mere! I have some special sessions for you..." The creepy noble licked his lips, scaring the two of them as they hugged each other, afraid what the man would do to-

"GUAAGH!" The sounds of choking was heard, as Naofumi slammed the back of the knight onto the carriage. His hand squeezing his throat hard. His face morphed into a big glower, displeased by the looks of it. The noble looked up, along with the children, seeing a man snarling at the sight of the knight as he slowly turned his head menacingly towards the noble.

"W-Wha-?!" The noble dropped his smile and froze with dread, when he saw the look Naofumi was giving to him, but he noticed the Shield on his wrist. "T-That Shield...! Y-You-!" The man almost looked to be angry and defiant, but Naofumi didn't really care. A flash of light engulfed him in a split second, changing him into an **Assassin**, he brought his stick out...

**SLICE!**

...and caved the man's skull in using his 'hooksword', with incredible force. Blood flowed out of the wound, as the noble's corpse fell to the floor.

"N-Naofumi!" Many eyes were on him now, as he heard Ake's voice call out to him in shock. But he ignored it, and knelt down to the two scared demi-human children.

"Are you okay?" The man coaxed the two of them, as they looked up and got a good look at him. His eyes shined with deep green eyes, hair as black as night, armor and a green cape, but the most defining aspect was the Shield that most demi-human children know about through the stories of their parents:

_'H-He's the Shield Hero?!'_

Suddenly, there was a clang, as Naofumi raised his bloodied shield to block a sword strike from the Captain, who looked visibly furious. "Y-YOU...! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!" The Captain roared at the Shield Hero, who nodded.

"Of course. Freeing these children." Naofumi responded, his eyes narrowing as he parried the Captain's attacks. The more aggressive knights, which were around half of them, drew their swords too, while the others, Ake and the Vice-Captain included, stayed out of it. "How could you condemn these children like that?!"

"YOU MURDERED ONE OF THE NOBLES IN MELROMARC, ALL FOR A PAIR OF TRASHY SLAVES!" The enraged knight shouted at the man. The raccoon girl cowered in fear as the wolf demi-human tried to defend her. Fortunately, Naofumi didn't budge nor did he say anything as the Captain continued to push hard. "SURRENDER AND GET ON YOUR KNEES, OR-!" The Captain could not finish as he was sucker punched into his open face, stepping back in surprise. The knights readied and charged, but stopped as they felt a pressure unlike any other. A killing intent that made them shake, all of it exuding from Naofumi, who snarled.

"Or what?"

**.o0o.**

"Maaaaaan, this is the life!" Motoyasu approved his new lifestyle. Currently the man was in the inn, lounging about, with most of the ladies all beside him, flirting and leaning on the man's body. Apparently, the inn prepped and held a party for him and the two other Heroes, who were busy unraveling themselves in the inn after a good training session. Ever since that pillar of light shook the land, the man was a little hesitant on going out. Itsuki and Ren chose to go out, train with their new party members, and possibly investigate the pillar of light and look for the Shield Hero, since recent news told them that the Shield Hero seemed to escape the castle town. Things just got a whole lot harder for the three of them, but Motoyasu is taking it in stride.

"Another grape, my Lord?"

"Why sure!"

He was having fun, after all. Sure he can train for the Wave of Calamity, but it isn't coming for another ten days. Plus, it was Myne's idea to give it a rest, and enjoy the luxuries of the town's worship for him. While some of his party members were a little adverse, wondering when they were going to start with the training, a few of the ladies took pleasure with him, and they were right. Why train now, when you can train tomorrow?

"We're out of grapes. Oh manager? Another vine, if you please."

"As you command, my lady."

Still, it was lingering in his mind, bothering him that he, and his fellow Heroes, have not found the Shield Hero yet. Usually beginner quests would at least show you the ropes about the game, but this was beginning to get more strenuous as time went on. From what he has heard from Ren and Itsuki, the two of them had no luck at all. Perhaps he went into the higher-leveled areas by mistake and got himself killed. Motoyasu would pity the man, if he didn't send them all into a wild goose chase.

"My Lord, are you perchance alright?"

"Huh? Oh yes, Myne dear."

He replied enthusiastically to the redhead beauty sitting on his lap. The woman, by her looks alone, looked extravagantly beautiful, the long and ruby red hair matching her emerald-green eyes, and even her cute face was enough for him to gush towards. She initially didn't join the Spear Hero's party, who consisted of Motoyasu and a few others, some men, women and girls, and he remembered hearing that she was waiting for the Shield Hero. Seeing her frown in disappointment when she heard that the Shield Hero went missing made Motoyasu sad too. To show how sad he was seeing her sad, he extended an olive branch to her by giving the red haired beauty an invite to his party. The rest was history afterwards.

"Is that so? I would loooove to hear about-!"

**CRASH!**

A huge crash erupted from the outside, with cries of pain and surprise alerting everybody inside the inn. From the outside, the body of a knight skid onto the tiled ground, as the sounds of a fight was erupting.

"What the hell...?!" Motoyasu widened his eyes, before he got out of his seat. The others stood up, hearing the brawling ensuing, a few adventurers excited for a fight after being forced to take part in a party rather than training, while the others were worried and scared. Motoyasu looked rightfully angry at the situation, and grabbed his Spear, just in case. Running outside, the man looked at his left... and promptly yelped and ducked at the last moment from a knight flying towards him.

"L-Lord Motoyasu!" Myne and his party went after him, and saw the bedlam that was ensuing. People were either cowering in their homes or stalls, or frightfully running away. The dust was clearing as they spotted a green-cloaked man fighting a horde of knights with nothing but a shield. "W-What happened here?!"

"I don't know, but we better stop the fighting now!" Motoyasu decided as he charged into the middle of the fight, with a couple of others joining in as well, wanting a piece of the action. Myne and the others didn't know what to do, but opted to cheer for him, along with a few ladies in his team as well.

Inside the fray, Naofumi, back in his **Shield Hero** class, blocked and parried attacks with his **Fencing Cloth Shield**, and soon giving nasty **Shield** **Bashes** to the knights, instantly stunning and knocking them out. One knight tried to charge with his sword high in the air, but Naofumi sidestepped to the right and gave a mean **Shield Bash** to his face, easily throwing him backwards. Noticing another sword about to behead him from another knight from behind, Naofumi stood still and readied another skill.

"**Pulsating Thorns!**" Red brambles of glowing thorns extended around Naofumi's body. When the sword struck on his neck, Naofumi didn't suffer any damage or pain, but the man's neck suddenly erupted in pain, before he fell to the ground, gripping his neck. The other knights saw the man gripping his neck, and began to think of the worst.

"Y-YOU MONSTER! YOU'LL PAY!" The Melromarc knights charged ahead, enraged that their comrade is possibly bleeding from the neck, but the Shield Hero simply raised his hand up.

"**Wall!**"

Glass walls erupted in front of Naofumi, causing the knights to crash into the glass walls and fall over from the recoil. "Idiots... Your comrade is okay." Naofumi informed them, removing the pained knight's arms, revealing that there was no cut. "Quit being a damn baby..." Naofumi muttered. The knights witnessed that there was no cut, and many of them cried foul, even the pained knight, still gripping his neck.

"How?! He was acting as if you sliced his neck!"

"Witchcraft!"

"Blasphemy!"

Many of the knights jeered at the Shield Hero, with the onlookers not knowing what to say. Naofumi only rolled his eyes, seeing as despite it being a slice to the neck, the damage reflected back was so small, that the knight suffered nothing more bigger than a papercut. However, he heard footsteps from the back, as the man turned, noticing a couple more fighters entering in. "Hm?"

Motoyasu, who ran in, was surprised to see the fighting stop, reduced to shouts and screams of hatred and sorcery. The two adventurers who ran in also stopped, somewhat disappointed at the huge brawl's sudden cease, but saw the green cloaked man standing proudly against the knights blocked off by the **Walls**. "W-Who are you? Did you cause all this?"

"Well well, good to see you again." Naofumi blankly replied back, before facing the knights, who swapped their jeers for the Shield Hero, to cheers for the Spear Hero. It was almost like an arena-esque cage match. "You don't remember me? I'm hurt, Spear Hero." The man smirked at the blonde-haired pretty boy in front of him.

"W-Wha-? Who're...?" Motoyasu narrowed his eyes, until he saw the Shield with the jewel on it. And then... it clicked. "Y-You were the hobo from before?! What the hell happened to you?! You're... you're...!" The Spear Hero stammered out loud, beginning to form incoherent sentences.

"Yes. And mind your tongue when you call someone a hobo." Naofumi shot back, with Motoyasu left in a permanent jawdrop. The Shield Hero rolled his eyes at the man's demeanor, and then began to notice more people joining in, particularly a two young men, holding weapons Naofumi was familiar with, and their parties.

"Motoyasu!" The Bow Hero Itsuki called out. "What happened? And... who's this man?"

"U-Uhh..." Motoyasu couldn't believe what he was seeing, and was unable to respond. Naofumi only raised his shield up for the two other Heroes to see, seeing that there was no way to hide it. The two of them took it upon himself to inspect the Shield Hero, and promptly widen their eyes in cold shock.

"Y-You... You can't be...!" Ren stepped back a little from the shock.

"You're the Shield Hero?! But you look so... so...!" Itsuki was even more dumbfounded, with Naofumi being a little miffed at this.

"I swear to God, if you call me a hobo again, I'll punch you." Naofumi threatened the Bow Hero with a fist.

"B-But h-h-how...?! You looked like you were a century old the last time we-! OWW!" Itsuki tried to make the connection... until he was punched in the face. Granted, it was the **Shield Hero**'s punch, so the punch felt more like a slap to the face, but it still hurt.

"I told you not to call me that, shrimp." Naofumi huffed, crossing his arms, making Itsuki infuriated from the nickname.

"D-Don't call me shrimp! What the hell did I do to call you that?!" Itsuki harshly barked back. "I didn't even call you a hobo that time!"

"It was in the same vein of demeaning to me, Bow Hero. Don't call me a hobo if you want me to call you shrimp, shrimp." Naofumi ended the argument with a glare that made a few of the adventurers flinch. Itsuki shuddered in rage, but left it at that (he was the one who sort of walked into that punch). "Now, what the hell do you want? Can you see that I'm busy defending myself?"

"D-Defending yourself?!" A voice from the crowd of knights echoed in disbelief, as the Captain, dirty and disgruntled, pushed himself towards the front, unable to get through due to the **Walls**. "HAH! Do not make us laugh! Even in the face of the Heroes, you still have the gall to lie to all of Melromarc."

"Really." Naofumi raised an eyebrow, with a disbelieving stare at the pompous man, noticing how he was trying to save face by lying himself.

"Did you really?" Ren asked, but Naofumi shook his head.

"Of course not. The Shield Hero has an attack stat of one, after all." Naofumi told the three of them. "AKA, no way I can attack for shit."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe..." Itsuki frowned, unbelieving of it all, while Motoyasu was beginning to think the same. He just saw a guy being flung across the road a few minutes ago.

"How is it hard to believe? He was the one who struck first. I'm without a weapon."

"W-WHAT?!" The Captain dropped his jaw from that accusation.

"I distinctly remember you announcing to the world: 'He's not my Hero, nor should he be the Hero! I'd rather put him to the sword if I must!' and then you struck me when I made a detour to get something. I was simply defending myself and the other townsfolk from your tomfoolery." The Captain did sputter, but Naofumi wasn't done yet. "It's your fault that this brawl erupted in the first place. You wasted my time. You wasted the Cardinal Heroes' time. You wasted everybody's time. We would have been in the palace finishing up the audience, but no! You had to settle your petty squabbles because things didn't go your way."

The other knights looked at each other, not knowing who to root for. While the Shield Hero indeed take his time, their Captain had no right to even cause a fight like this. The Three Heroes and their parties looked genuinely confused at what to think about it. Was the Shield Hero really telling the truth?

"Right. Case closed. Now... should we head to the castle?" Naofumi concluded, turning around and motioning himself to walk towards the castle, but stopped at the sight of a crimson-haired woman, smiling almost triumphantly. Naofumi only raised an eyebrow, but Motoyasu looked ecstatic at the sight and ran up to her.

"Myne!" He called out, hugging her like a couple.

"Lord Motoyasu!" She cried out with glee. Naofumi narrowed his eyes in disgust.

_'Tsk... Coming at a bad time...__'_ Naofumi wondered, seeing the woman mucking it up with Motoyasu. "Right. To the king, I guess..."

"What in God's name happened here?!" The sound of an old voice irritated beyond belief caught nearly everybody by surprise. All the knights, even Ake and the Vice-Captain stood up straight in attention and slight fear. The Heroes saw the owner of the voice, and began to look respectable, with even Motoyasu pulling away from Myne, as she began to run forward. Naofumi was the only one who wasn't surprised at the sight of a regal man in royal robes, gray hair and a crown above his head.

"Well well. The King of Melromarc. Quite a big change of pace here." Naofumi noted, seeing the King of Melromarc coming to visit him, despite the ruined mercantile area. The young woman ran to the wizened King.

"There he is! The Shield Hero! He's the one who started the fight in the town!" Myne accused, pointing fingers at Naofumi, who narrowed his eyes at her brazenness.

"We literally just solved this five minutes ago." Naofumi said tartly. "We don't need another-."

"I see. So it is true." The King stated, clear on the situation. Naofumi widened his eyes. Did this monarch just ignore what was literally laid out? "Shield Hero." The King began with much frustration. "First you evaded my summons to my court, and then not only do you injure my knights, but you caused much property damage with your rough-housing!"

"Ugh. I just explained it but-!"

"Enough! We will question you in the trial!" The King announced, with Naofumi's eyes widening even further in disbelief. Most of the knights, especially the Captain, cheered at that, seeing the Shield Hero brought down a peg, enough for the **Walls** to break, marching up to seize Naofumi, but the Shield Hero threw their arms off of him.

"You have to be kidding me. You take her words over mine? A Hero?" The Shield Hero growled out, but Myne puffed out her chest with pride at what she was able to do to him.

"Hmph. A criminal like you has no say, Hero or no!" The woman haughtily replied, a bit shy on laughing at his face.

"I never asked you, you bitch!" Yelled Naofumi, seeing her having the high ground, purely because she was... just there... Naofumi began to wonder just about that: Why does that crimson haired woman... Myne, was it? Why does Myne's complaint matter more than the words and evidence of a Hero?

Myne looked red with anger, being called that, and the King was no exception to that. But another Hero was more vocal about it than others. "HEY!" The voice of Motoyasu, angry at the words Naofumi gave to the angered Myne, pointed his spear threateningly to Naofumi's head. "You take those words back!" The man in question ignored it, and simply grabbed the spear and brought it away from his face, his eyes not leaving Myne.

"You... You're his daughter, aren't you?" Naofumi queried to Myne, who didn't really answer back. Naofumi only clicked his teeth at her silence. "Of course you are. Why else would the King believe you over me?"

"What? She's his daughter?" Ren mumbled in disbelief. Itsuki was caught surprised as well. However, Motoyasu...

"Don't ignore me, Shield Hero!" Motoyasu warned, and was about to thrust... but Naofumi was not in the mood to play games. Dodging the Spear, his fist glowed bright before he gave a straight up punch to Motoyasu. Usually the punch would be like a small slap to the face, but this one...

"**Repel!**"

His own fist glowed with the energy required, enough to punch Motoyasu in the face, point blank, and release the energy. The man, not expecting the raw power, was launched into one of the door of the homes just across the street. Many gasped at the audacity of the man's brazenness to attack a Hero.

"LORD MOTOYASU!" Myne called out, running to the knocked out Motoyasu, slowly getting up. But their blood froze as the sight of an angry Shield Hero leaking killer intent walked up to them.

"Protect the Princess!" The Captain tried to rally his troops, but Naofumi looked at them, and they froze as well. The pressure of the feeling of dread began to rise, paralyzing them. Ren, Itsuki and even the King looked surprised and intimidated. Prepping another powerful **Repel**, the man reared his fist... before Ake stepped in between them.

"L-Lord Naofumi! Please stop!" The young knight pleaded with Naofumi, who still had the angry look on his and projected it to Ake. His knees buckled and his resolve was shaken, but he continued anyway. "I-I-I know that you feel wr-wronged b-b-by all th-this, b-but please, l-let our K-King help y-y-you! I s-swear my l-life into it!" Ake tried his best to convince Naofumi, while keeping eye contact with him. He was expecting all of his convincing to fail... until Naofumi took a deep breath and lowered his arm. He couldn't hurt Ake, a young man who trusts him. He didn't deserve it.

"Tsh... fine." Naofumi grumbled, turning his head, not sparing a second glance at Ake, who smiled gratefully. Ignoring what was going on around him, the man just marched to the castle silently, one thought prevailing in his mind.

_'I take it back. This place... it's worse than what it was years ago.'_

* * *

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! ******(12/15/2019)****


	4. Chapter 4: Escape

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! (12/17/2019)**

**I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_The Word is sacred. The law is absolute. That was how the world revolved, especially in our monarchy._

_Kingdoms had kings, queens, lords and regents towering above the serf and peasant to deliver their hands of judgement upon the world below. That was how the Gods formed their upbringings: with fire and stone, carved like clay and molded into the fates they were designed to become. The royal families of queens and princesses were chosen by God Himself, their beliefs representing what they were to become, the moment before their birth. A perfect will, along with the representation of their beliefs, as they can say, projected for the sheep like us to follow. True divine beings, in other words, who becomes the law, who become order... who become absolute within their citadel._

_And we as the dutiful followers of the Three Heroes Church must strive to perfect that practice, as children chosen by the three Gods themselves will stray without our help. To forge a path to be like the Gods who have wielded the Spear, Sword and Bow. To combat the evil that is the Shield Demon._

_\- First Passage of "The Word of the Three Heroes", Author unknown._

**.o0o.**

"I still do not see the point of this."

Naofumi stated as a matter-of-fact, the man crossing his arms as he was standing in a portable witness's stand in the middle of the throne room. The knights were on the side, standing to attention in their formation. Ministers hung in front of the King, and the nobles gathered at the second floor gallery to watch the trial. The three Cardinal Heroes, along with their respective parties, were standing on the side, closer to the King's throne, which was on opposite to the entrance. Ake looked nervous, as the knights weren't looking at him with positive looks. The Captain gave him quite an evil eye as well, which made him want to sink into his armour like a turtle in its shell. The King, sitting on his own seat, had a glare upon the Shield Hero, but hiding it well enough for most of the public to not see. Malty, on the other hand, had a smirk on her face as she stood nearby Motoyasu's side, clearly having a hard time hiding her glee. "The accused shall not speak, for I, King Aultcray of Melromarc, shall decide your fate, Shield Hero." Aultcray announced, starting the trial.

"Pfft."

"Now, this trial is now in session, for the Shield Hero, accused of violence and murder within the walls of Melromarc." The King began, announcing the crime Naofumi was accused of. "The victims were the Juvenile knights of Melromarc, some of the townspeople and merchants, along with their stalls damaged beyond repair, and the murder of one noble and a valued friend, Lord Augustus."

"Murder too?" Itsuki interrupted in shock, before eyeing Naofumi. "How could you?! It was only one day, and you murder somebody?!"

"Shut your mouth, shrimp." Naofumi harshly deflected. "The King is speaking." That made Itsuki fume, but King Aultcray raised his hand to quiet him.

"Hmph. I finished my piece, Shield." The King didn't even bother using Naofumi's proper title anymore. "Now, how do you plead?"

"Good question, your Old-liness." Naofumi rudely replied, making many of the nobles and ministers gasp.

"How dare you!" One of the ministers defended, snapping at the Shield Hero for his rudeness. "Your sharp tongue and disrespect towards the king will be added to the sentence we will give you!"

"Added to the sentence that you will give me?" Naofumi parroted back, looking at the minister. "Sounds like you already declare me guilty. You sure this is a fair trial?"

"Enough, criminal!" Aultcray raised his voice, silencing the minister. Naofumi, on the other hand, glared back. "I allow you into my courts and you dare spew these insults to me?!"

"I do dare. Why should I respect you, if you don't show respect yourself?!" Naofumi shot back. The two of them glared, the gravity of the situation feeling a lot more heavier now.

"Wait!" Ren, raising a hand to stop their bickering, interjected. He then turned to Naofumi and answered as a mediator. "This is a trial! At least let him tell us his side of the story."

"Hmm..." Aultcray closed his eyes, pondering about the request, while Naofumi actually was surprised at the Sword Hero.

_'Huh... an actually decent proposal from one of the other Heroes. Colour me surprised.'_ He thought, giving a hint of a small smirk. The Sword Hero was actually kind of smart from that, but it was far too early to trust him. After all, the Spear Hero was wrapped around that bitch of a princess's finger, and the shrimp looked like he was fuming.

"For this situation, I shall grant your request once, Sword Hero." Aultcray approved, before looking at Naofumi. "Minister, if you please?"

"Yes, your Highness." One of the ministers nodded, before walking to Naofumi. "Shield Hero, his Highness desires for you to recount the events that have transpired, from your summoning to this afternoon. Do not omit any information that would be important to the case." Naofumi nodded, being serious for once, as he began his tale. Ake, who was watching on the sidelines, felt a hint of dread creep into his stomach, listening to the events unfolding.

"When I was summoned, it was true that I was a beggar. One who hasn't eaten, drank or bathed or slept in a decent bed in a long time, countless years to be exact. So I wasn't able to climb myself out of the summoning room downstairs just yet, but eventually I did. However, I couldn't present myself to the O wise king of Melromarc, just yet." Naofumi recounted. "I mean, would you wanted me to come in here with a smell worse that a sty?"

"Ohh... right, I guess that would make some amount of sense." Motoyasu clamped his nose, imagining that the situation, that did not happen, would have created disastrous results.

"So, I needed to get myself cleaned up in the inn. So I went in, asked them to let me use their facilities, and let me tell you, it felt heavenly!" Naofumi smiled with satisfaction writting on his face, making an 'OK' sign with his hand. "The way I scrubbed off all the dirt I accumulated over the years, cutting off all the hair off my chin, face and head, and relaxing in a bed for once."

"Ugghhh! That's enough!" The loud obnoxious sounds of Myne interrupted his testimony. "You are clearly trying to derail the testimony, Shield Hero!"

"King Aultcray." Naofumi began. "Why is your daughter of yours braying? It's annoying everybody."

"W-What?! B-Braying?!" Motoyasu interjected with a raised eyebrow. Naofumi only smiled as he spoke out the punch line

"She sounds just like an ass." That got Myne to be red in the face she's been slapped. Motoyasu was feeling the same kind of rage, but none were as angry as King Aultcray.

"SILENCE, CRIMINAL SCUM!" The King himself got up from the seat, showing his own 'domineering stature'. "With clear disrespect in my courts against my daughter, the evidence is as clear as day. And seeing as you continue to waste time, then I would have you sentenced to death!"

"But you're not. Are you?" That stopped the King in his tracks. Naofumi smirked before continuing. "Even after all the false charges your daughter continues to call for me, you can't actually do the deed and kill me, can you? What would the world say if they hear about you murdering a hero? What would neighbouring countries say about you murdering a hero? What would your wife say about you murdering a hero?" Naofumi's voice sounded more taunting than ever as he drawled on and on. The silence seemed deafening and heavy, but the answer was clear.

"W-Wait, what will happen?" Motoyasu asked, clearly not kept up to speed. Naofumi shook his head and answer for him.

"War."

That got people going into distress. Some of the nobles were chatting, worried about the result if the sentencing went through. Others even fainted from that. The knights felt on edge at the proclamation, and the Heroes looked at each other, wondering why everybody was acting so worried about a war. But a bang on the armrest of the throne silenced the people.

"SILENCE!" The man yelled out a second time, and that stopped everybody from talking. "Indeed, killing the Shield Hero would be detrimental to us all. However, the imprisonment for life, except for combating the Waves, shall prove fitting for scum like you."

"But that's not going to stop the other kingdoms now, will it?" Naofumi challenged, with Aultcray narrowing his eyes in response, almost as if he's taking the challenge.

"W-Wait, why can't we just kill him? I mean, we can get another Shield Hero, right?" Motoyasu inquired.

"Of course you would think it like that..." Naofumi spoke offhand, as if Motoyasu would actually be okay with killing a fellow hero. Aultcray looked a little bristled about it as well. "You can't kill the Shield Hero, unless you kill the other three Cardinal Heroes as well. That way, they would be able to get another Shield Hero, after years of preparing for another ritual. Feel better about that, dumbass?"

"U-Urgh..." That got Motoyasu to grimace, and Ren and Itsuki looked at him with an odd look. Was Motoyasu actually okay with killing the Shield Hero?

"It's clear that your false sentence is going nowhere, Your Foolishness." Naofumi waved his hand dismissively, while shaking his head in mock disappointment. "No matter what bullshit sentence you give me, it's going to backfire on you hard."

"Why are you so flippant about this? You're not above the law!" Itsuki demanded, with Naofumi shaking his head.

"You're right. I'm not above the law, since there isn't any law in this sham of a trial in the first place." That got people to gasp a second time. "What?! Didn't you hear the minister saying that they're going to jail me anyway? Pretty dead giveaway that my words don't matter in a 'court of law and fair trial'." Naofumi used his fingers to emphasize the last five words. That actually got the other nobles muttering to them, wondering if it's true or false.

"Of course this is a court of law!" Aultcray corrected harshly, still frustrated that Naofumi has been in control of the court for far too long. The King actually walked up to Naofumi and grabbed his collar with surprising strength. "It's MY court of law. Do NOT mistake that, Shield."

"Try your worst, and keep Princess Donkey of yours on a leash." Naofumi responded with a taunt, eyeing , and Aultcray snarled, enraged that he would just call his daughter that. He let go of the Shield Hero and stomped back to his throne, to the point of throwing the man back a couple of feet. _'He's got strength, I'll give him that.' _"So what now, you old bag? Gonna imprison me? Set me free as a bird?"

"N-Naofumi, please... Don't dig your hole any deeper..." Ake mumbled, enough for Naofumi and the knights to catch. The Shield Hero turned around and smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll get out of this. Don't you worry." Naofumi responded with a sincere smile. Aultcray seemed to catch it though.

"Shield, who are you speaking to?" The King demanded. While one would expect Naofumi to stammer, he actually smiled and played along.

"A witness of mine. C'mon Ake." Naofumi outstretched a hand towards him, who shook in his armour. But slowly, Ake reached out seeing as Naofumi intended no harm, but one particular man did not want to play along.

"Y-you! P-Private! Don't you dare take his hand!" The Captain harshly snapped at the young knight, who stopped him stiff. "Y-Your Highness! This is clearly a waste of time!"

"I stand by that as well! Your testimony is null and void, as you rather spend time disrespecting the rulers of this kingdom!" Aultcray announced, but Naofumi wasn't having it.

"You keep saying the same things over and over again, yet you said that this was going to be a fair trial. Besides, you're trying to break the rules yourself by ignoring the fact that it can't be proper trial without a witness or hard evidence, your Lawlessness. So you can just shut up and listen, as I'm trying to show that I'm innocent, the **right** way." Naofumi deflected back, before looking back at Ake. "I'm not going to force you, Ake. Do what you think is right."

Within, Ake is going through total turmoil within himself. He did want to defend Naofumi; he treated him right, like a friend, and of course he wanted to be stronger. But... against the entirety of Melromarc, the place he grew up as a knight? Was he really okay with this? Looking up, Naofumi gave him a welcoming smile, much akin to a friend, but as he looked back at the Captain, he was snarling, angry that one of the knights he trained was going to walk out on him. "I forbid you from taking his side! Private, do you hear me?!" To many, it sounded pathetic, and slowly but surely Ake had to agree. Determination swelling within, he took a step and placed his hand on Naofumi's.

"I'll take the stand." He announced, despite him shaking in his greaves. Chatter echoed in the room, with some of the knights angry at Ake, while a few are secretly happy that he took a stand, the Vice-Captain being one of them.

_'Good on you, Ake. I couldn't be any more prouder that you have the Shield Hero as a friend.'_

"Good man, Ake!" Naofumi smiled, patting his back, with Ake embarrassingly smiling back. The King actually seethed in his seat, unable to believe that the Shield Hero is forcing his own way over his own. "Explain to the gallery and the good people: who struck first?"

"I-It was the Captain... He struck because Naofumi... wasn't going at the pace... that he wanted to go." He answered, feeling the heated glare from the Captain himself. If looks could kill, Ake would fear he would be a pile of dust. The nobles had the information sink in, before gasping.

"I-Inconceivable!"

"To think... the Captain would do that!"

"His royal status really has gone to his head."

"D-Does that mean... that the Shield Hero is innocent?"

Naofumi smirked triumphantly, proud of Ake for standing up for him. The gallery's words began to weigh heavily on the knights, making them step back. Knowing that they were screwed over by the Shield Hero, they pointed their ire towards him and Ake. Everybody at the King's side were shocked that Naofumi was able to sway favour to him, and they hated it.

"T-That doesn't prove anything!" Motoyasu tried to rebuke.

"It actually explains everything." Naofumi relayed, before beginning his explanation. "One: it proves that the fight wasn't started by me, ergo it wasn't my fault in the first place. Two: I couldn't fight back, due to my status as a Shield Hero. And I'm assured that all of you know that the Shield Hero has an attack stat of one, correct?"

While it got the other gallery nobles agreeing on the sentence, the royalty, Heroes and the knights were still belligerent. "Then how do you explain the murder of Lord Augustus?" One of the ministers asked.

"Unfortunately caught in the crossfire by being sliced in the head, which brings me to number three: How do you explain that I killed the noble if I do not wield any blades?" Naofumi intoned, making the gallery gasp a third time, and began to talk amongst each other at the impossibility. The ministers all looked dumbfounded between each other, unable to answer, while the knights didn't know what to say to that, except for the Captain, who was shaking on his feet. For once, the Heroes looked floored at that logic as well.

"N-No! That can't be!" The voice of one Myne Sophia cut through the other voices. "You must be lying! There's no doubt about it!"

"So what's your counter-argument to all this? That I somehow used my hand to slice him in half with my mind? Face it, you can't worm your way out of this one this time!"

"W-Wha... b-b-but..." For once, Myne couldn't find a way to answer that. Motoyasu was the same, his jaw down to the ground, trying his best to come up with any statements to come to his defense. Itsuki looked the same, but is easily faltering on who to believe. Ren, on the other hand, looked certain about the outcome now, and nodded to Naofumi, believing him.

"I believe you." The Sword Hero stated, shocking many people. The King, gritting his teeth from trying to answer, couldn't form a cohesive answer, and was appalled from the apparent betrayal.

"B-But S-Sword Hero, what-?!"

"His logic is sound. A shield could only bash someone's face, but the murder of the Lord shows that he was sliced by a sword, not a Shield. One of your knights could have done the deed." Ren explained neutrally, looking at the King with a stare he couldn't comprehend. "What about you two?"

"I... I..." Itsuki didn't know the answer to that question. Motoyasu still stood firm.

"No, there has to be some mistake!" The Spear Hero was indignant on his stance, and stomped up to Naofumi, pointing his spear at him. "Tell us the truth, Naofumi! You killed the man, didn't you?!"

"...Why are you so hell bent on making me fess up the truth, when I already did? You have some sort of vendetta against me, Spear Hero?" Naofumi barked out, starting to get irritated by his demeanour. "Or is that liar beside you making you do it because of her crocodile tears? Are you really that foolish to believe something third-rate?"

"SHUT UP!" The Spear Hero yelled out indignantly, shooting his spear forward towards Naofumi's head. However, the Shield Hero tilted his head and gripped the Spear's shaft underneath his arm, making Motoyasu unable to bring his weapon back. "Grrrrr! Let gooooo!" Naofumi, finally having enough, gripped the spear and, with Motoyasu lifted in the air, threw him and his Spear towards the double doors of the throne room. The man landed on the door, before sliding and falling onto the floor on his head.

"L-LORD MOTOYASU!" Myne cried out, and she ran over to him, helping him up. Itsuki and Ren ran over to Motoyasu to check on him as well, as Myne growled and pointed at Naofumi indignantly. "How dare you do that to your fellow hero! Beg for your life and apologize!"

"He struck first, so it's technically his fault. Blame him for your failures, _princess._" Naofumi refuted, before he, taking Ake's hand, began to walk towards the door. "We should go. The trial is over. You're holding too much of our time."

"Not so fast, Shield Hero!" The King roared at Naofumi, who rolled his eyes once more. The King then made a gesture, a hand slashing downwards from above, and gripping into a fist, which every knight understood. "Guards! Heroes! Seize him and the traitor!"

"T-Traitor?!" Ake exclaimed, surprised by the development. Despite telling the truth, the young man felt his heart stop from the idea of being incarcerated. However, Naofumi wasn't intimidated by the fact that the knights, who were finally itching for some action agains the raven-haired young man and their fellow knight, marched forward to their target, intent on being as rough as possible. Before they could reach his arms however, they were suddenly blocked off by **Walls** spawning in front of them.

"W-What?! These walls again?!" One of the knights cried out, before Naofumi outstretched his arms towards the knights, his hands glowing.

"**REPEL!**" The shockwave that ensued shattered the **Walls**, and blew away all of the knights around Naofumi and Ake, having them collide with pillars and walls of the throne room rather roughly. Myne was blown back from the cast, her back slamming against the doorway, causing it to open. Itsuki and Ren held their stance, but saw that the princess was roughly blown backwards.

"MALTY!" The King cried out Myne's real name in worry, before his eyes ignited with fire. "YOU WILL RUE THIS DAY, SHIELD HERO!" The King began to get off from his seat, but again, **Walls** erupted, blocking the way towards Naofumi.

"Too bad." The Shield Hero denied, but was blocked off by Itsuki and Ren. "You're gonna get in my way too?"

"The King ordered us that you must stay here, Naofumi." Ren informed, but Naofumi gently pushed him aside.

"Does he really, Sword Hero?" The man questioned. "He didn't reward you for your efforts on finding me yet. You sure you want to help him?" That actually made Ren falter a little, his grip on the sword shaking a little. Itsuki, however, wasn't ready to be swayed.

"You injured one of our comrades! That's why you should be punished!" Itsuki shouted out but Naofumi drew back and, before the Bow Hero could react, **Shield Bash**ed the two Heroes in front of him. The two of them falling to the ground, the Shield Hero eyed the now named Malty glaring at him with all of her hatred, before walking off.

"If he wanted the three Heroes, then he shouldn't have summoned me. I'm nothing like these phonies." He spoke his last words, before walking off, ignoring the screams of the indignant king.

**.o0o.**

"You okay?" Naofumi asked, as he was in the middle of the town, walking with Ake, who looked incredibly downcast.

"Y-Yeah... I just..." Ake tried to speak up, but words were getting caught in his throat. Naofumi looked at him with pity, and he understood what he was going through. Nobody could handle going against their own kingdom in only an hour.

"I'm grateful, Ake." The young man looked at the Shield Hero. He sounded so... sincere with his voice. "You got me through a difficult trial. If it was just me, I would have to fight my way out. I didn't want that."

"R-Really?" The man stuttered, with Naofumi nodding for clarification.

"Right. First, let's go to the blacksmith. Get you some items." The two of them walked towards the familiar shop, with weapons on display on the windows. Walking inside, they encountered the same bald blacksmith, Erhart behind the counter.

"Oh you're back, Shield Hero!" Erhart waved to Naofumi, a big smile stretching his face, before noticing the new face. "Oh hi! A new party member of yours?"

"H-Hi! I... My name is Ake Rolfe." The young knight muttered, a little nervous at the blacksmith's stature, but he felt a big hand on his shoulder as Erhart responded with a jovial laugh.

"Hahaha! Welcome to my shop, young Rolfe!" Erhart beamed at the young man, before going in a thinking pose. "Wait, hold on. Rolfe..."

"What's up?" Naofumi asked, turning around after looking through the bald man's wares.

"You... you're the son of the Lord of Lute, correct?" He queried, making Ake widen his eyes.

"U-Uhhh yeah, why?" Ake muttered, before Erhart beamed at the young man once more, and ruffled the young lad's hair.

"Really! Me and you dad go way back! I'll be happy to get you some armour!" Erhart grinned. Naofumi smiled, before offering his own advice on what Ake should wear. The man was a knight, so armours were the best thing to help him. With Naofumi and Erhart's help, the two of them were able to suit him up much more. Now, with his own set of Studded Armor, Iron Greaves, Gauntlets, repaired Knight Sword and Shield, the young man marveled just how much has changed with him.

"Wooooow..." Ake breathed out, like a kid in a candy store. Looking at his own arms and legs, he felt much more protected.

"I guess you don't go out shopping that much, do ya? Would make sense since they don't usually get knights to be carriers." Erhart wondered out loud in a hypothetical manner. It was known that he was one of the blacksmiths that made some of the equipment for the royalty.

"Yeah, the knights had their own armoury stocked up because of you. If I was part of the knights still, I would have thanked you a thousand times!" Ake cheerfully replied. "I'll happily pa-!"

"Here. This should cover costs. Keep the change." Naofumi interrupted, placing a few gold coins on the counter for the armour. However, Erhart wasn't going to let it slide just yet.

"Whoa whoa, wait. I know that you technically bought every shield and a set of armor, an accessory and a cloak for a handful of gold coin, which was was more than enough for it all, but this is a little much, Naofumi." Erhart gave his honest opinion to the Shield Hero. It felt like he was ripping the black-haired man off with all this. Naofumi on the other hand, was a little shocked at how honourable Erhart was. "There must be something I can do, or provide."

"Hmmm… Well... there is one thing." Naofumi thought to himself, and then snapped his fingers, bringing out his shield. A message then pops out that only he can read.

**Crafting**

**Using materials gathered or found from monster drops can be used to synthesize a variety of new items, from potions, equipment and trinkets! Use the jewel on the Legendary Shield as your table, and experiment on what you can find and what you can make!**

'_Good thing there's no level limit on what a Hero can craft! Now __I've done it before... so let's see if I can remember how to make 'that'...'_ Naofumi then looked at Erhart. "Erhart, could you please show me any raw materials you own?"

"Uhh, sure, if you want." Walking behind his counter with his heavy boots, the shopkeeper showed Naofumi his raw materials: some various ores, some magic crystals, arrows, a refined magic crystal, potions, herbs, leather, animal skin and a compass. Looking through the materials, Naofumi smirked.

"Alright. I hope you don't mind if I use a few of them now."

"Go right ahead, though I hate to ask, but what you're going to make?" Erhart curiously asked, seeing as he was fellow craftsman himself. Naofumi took some of the gold ore, the refined crystal, a few blue refined magic crystals and the compass, and smirked at the item requirements.

"Well, the Heroes have the power to he began to perform the crafting procedure. I'm just making something that the Shield Hero of the past made, according to the books." Naofumi answered, lying a little about the 'books' portion. He remembered this recipe by heart from the past, as he was responsible for engineering such a technology. Both Erhart and Ake watched as the ingredients were poured into the red gem of the Shield. The items were sucked in, as the gem glowed and mixed together the items into a bright light, much like a blender. Finally, out of the Shield came a refined blue crystal connected by golden instruments holding the big crystal up, along with the smaller ones around it. It slowly spun slowly on the base of the compass, much like the dial on an astrologist's globe.

"W-What is that…?" Ake asked, with Erhart scratched his head at the fancy device. Naofumi smirked at his own creation and began to answer.

"A **Teleport Stone**." He explained, triumphantly. "Little towers that can be placed anywhere around the world. When I attune to them with my Shield, I can teleport back here anytime using this Teleport Stone, as long as I know the spell **Return**." Erhart still looked confused at the sight. "Erhart, if you wish to repay me back, then allow us to teleport back here inside the shop, whenever we want, if that's okay." He asked politely, in which Erhart put his right hand below his chin, scratching the hairs.

"You sure? Does that mean you're gonna be teleporting here often?" Erhart asked curiously, eyeing the spinning, glowing crystal. "Could you demonstrate it at least?"

"Sure. Watch and learn, Ake." Naofumi releases a small amount of mana to attune to the crystal. As soon as he finished attuning, the Shield Hero focused, a few swirls of magic going around the Shield Hero. "**Return!**" And with that, he blinked out of existence, and then a few seconds later, he reappeared next to the crystal. "And there we go!"

"Whoaaaa!" Both males had their jaws drop. This was the first time they ever saw this. They don't know how Naofumi even made this, but if this was discovered, it would make the world completely revolutionary!

**.o0o.**

"Wow, that was amazing to watch, Naofumi!" Ake praised the man, who only looked at him oddly.

"No need for the praises. But we got to get out of town now." Naofumi replied in a serious fashion, something that made Ake be on edge. Thankfully for the both of them, Erhart allowed Naofumi to **Return** back to his shop whenever he wishes, as the shop is also Erhart's home, but Naofumi wishes to keep it a secret, since its discovery would put the three of them in trouble. With a few more buys here and there to buy potions and accessories, the men set out towards the exit.

"T-The knights?"

"Yes. Many won't consider you part of their ranks anymore. Be on your guard." Ake nodded, as the two of them ducked into the alleyways. Seeing guards up ahead conversing and marching about, it was clear who they were searching for. Looking left and right, the direct path wasn't safe anymore.

"Hmm... let's take the alleyways." Naofumi suggested, and dragged Ake through them. The man walked through the alleys, dodging left and right, trying to make heads and tails through the maze of corridors, occasionally peeking out to check on the situation on the main road. "Tsk... they aren't giving up on the main road. It's gonna be rough going through."

"Sorry... I wish I was more help." Ake bemoaned a little, but Naofumi shook his head.

"That's fine. As long as you stay quiet, then that's all I ask." The Shield Hero responded, before focusing back onto the ouside.

Seeing that the coast is clear from the main road, the two men spotted another alleyway closer to the main gate, but as they stepped out, the sounds of battlecries erupted from the side. "YAAAAAAUGH!" Three knights jumped towards the pair, intent on restraining them, but Naofumi raised his Shield and activated his **Walls** on time. The three knights cried out in pain as they landed painfully on them, cracking them significantly, before sliding off.

"Quickly!" Naofumi and Ake ran to the alley, but spotted more knights coming out of them, smiling as if they knew they were there. Backing up, they realized that the knights came out of hiding from the alleyways, and have surrounded them. "Damnit... They couldn't have known...!"

"Well well. We've found you, Shield Hero!"

A familiar voice made them turn their heads. Ake immediately turned and let out a small squeal of fright, while Naofumi narrowed his eyes at the man who smiled triumphantly.

"C-C-Captain?!" Ake stuttered, stepping back a pace.

"I'm not your captain anymore, you traitor!" His angered voice and his words cut Ake deep, making the young man shake in his boots.

"T-T-T-Traitor?" Ake sputtered, scared for his life, but Naofumi grasped Ake's shoulders, reminding him that the Shield Hero is on his side, before returning his glare towards the man.

"What does the captain of the knights want with me?" Naofumi simply asked with no emotion in his voice, despite the tension they were arousing. The captain had an expression that only expressed pleasure and malice as they began to approach the pair.

"We're bringing you two in! Doesn't matter what any of you say!" He declared.

"Oh whose authority? And on what grounds?" Naofumi demanded, as he quietly swapped to **Assassin**.

"Hmph! The King! Who else?!" The Captain sneered towards them. "On the grounds towards disrespect and blasphemous speaking towards the King! In addition to leaving the trial before it formally ends by the King's adjournment!"

"He never gives up. Did I kill his dog or something?" Naofumi muttered in confusion, with Ake close to having a panic attack.

"Don't give in, Ake. Clearly this man and his king are truly insufferable fools if they think that they are gods among men." Naofumi replied coolly, but he could tell that wasn't going to stop them.

"Ah, but that's what criminals avoiding trouble like you would say." The captain gloated on. "But no matter. He's a deserter from our ranks, and housing criminals is against the law, so we'll add that to your sentence!"

"Hmph. But that would mean that you would have to arrest the king too." Naofumi countered, with everybody else shocked at what they heard.

"T-The king? Y-You would dare accuse the king for the laws he has passed?" One of the knights growled at that accusation, but Naofumi only smirked.

"He is housing a criminal as well. The princess Malty of Melromarc for false accusations against a Hero and, I'm sure, many others." Naofumi declared, smirking at their expressions.

"Y-YOU! HOW DARE YOU-!" The enraged knights rushed Naofumi, but the man was prepared.

"**Smoke Bomb!**"

Naofumi threw something to the ground, causing the surrounding area to immediately erupt in thick black smoke The knights were shocked that the Shield Hero would have something like that, and as the smoke enveloped them, they couldn't see anywhere past their own nose. "GAAH! FIND HIM!" The Captain's voice stammered, but the knights grabbed each other, thinking they caught the man, they instead grabbed each other and fell to the ground. As the smoke cleared, all the knights were in a tangled web of grapples, lying on the floor accidentally grabbing each other. "AUUUGH LET GOOOOO!" The Captain screamed out in anger, alerting the other guards nearby.

Within, Naofumi pulled Ake quietly, sneaking into the alleyway. Thankfully, they found a dark tent to hide in, making the knights completely unaware of them. The sound of running greaves began to disappear, and Ake let out a small sigh of relief.

"T-That was close…" Ake breathed out.

"I'll say."

A new voice scared Ake. He nearly screamed, if not for Naofumi covering his mouth. From the shadows, the source of the new voice walked in, showing himself to be a short glasses-wearing man, wearing a ringmaster's tuxedo from a circus, complete with a top hat, mustache, gloves, bow tie and the creepy grin. He was only chuckling softly at Ake's reaction. "P-Please don't scare me like that next time!" Ake spoke, with laboured breathing. Naofumi only looked at the man emotionlessly.

"Sorry sorry." The man apologized with a small bow. "Anyway, you must be the Shield Hero everybody is talking about."

"That's me." Naofumi replied, narrowing his eyes at the man. There was something wrong with him, that's for sure. "What is it you want?"

"Well, I have come to offer my assistance." The man smiled in a conduct that screamed gentlemanly. "How about it? I have exactly what you need."

"If you're saying a party member, then don't bother. I already have one." Naofumi rebuked, with Ake smiling.

"Ah, but that one looks like he'd pass out any minute." The tuxedo man's words shattered Ake's happiness. "What I can offer you is a party member that will never betray you." At those words, Naofumi narrowed his eyes. He knew what sort of man he is now.

"N-No way… You're a slave dealer." Ake whispered, getting it right with one go. While slavery and human supremacy were legal in Melromarc, it was the act of slavery itself that disgusted some people, including a moral person like Ake. The slave dealer's smile only widened, as he offered his hand to shake.

"So what do you say, Shield Hero?" The dealer offered. Only after a few seconds did Naofumi walk up to the portly man, much to Ake's shock.

"Show me who you have first, then we'll talk." Naofumi's tone offered no negotiations, but the dealer complied anyway. Ake only stood for a few moments, almost unable to comprehend that the Shield Hero would accept slavery instead of himsef, but shook his head and followed him inside.

Within the circus tent, there were lined cages, there were many humanoid beastmen attacking the bars, or warily watching the newcomers walk inside. Ake only walked ahead while avoiding the gazes of the glowing red eyes. Naofumi was mostly unfazed, although, his fist was tightening. "Now how about we take a look? How about this one?" The dealer offered with his shifting smile. Opening the curtain, a shadow growled before it slammed onto the bars. It looked like a panther, muscular and bipedal, and it tried to go through the bars with no avail. "This one is pretty high class, and can definitely shred any of your enemies. It will only cost 75 gold. What do you say?"

Ake didn't say anything, only a little frightened by its build and how vicious the demi-human was. However, it only locked eyes onto Naofumi, almost as if the panther beastman was sensing his strength. "You…" The panther growled, making Ake and the dealer's eyes widen. "That scent... I recognize that scent. The smell of my old home."

"Old home?" Ake muttered out loud, with the top hat man absorbing that fact for later.

"You're also strong. I can feel that strength emanating from you. How I longed to serve someone such as you." His growl warped into a smile. "What do you say?"

Naofumi didn't say anything and closed his eyes. One could take it as a nod, which made the panther beastman smile, until Naofumi opened his eyes sharply and glared hard at the panther beastman.

It felt like the panther was staring into the abyss, as it slowly stepped back. It was a glare that could kill a man, or even make several warriors flee in terror. This… this _human_ clearly can show just how strong and fearsome he can be. The beastman sunk back into the shadows, growling in a fear that would be more defensive for itself. Ake can feel the glare as well, despite not the target. Even the dealer lost his smile, but then it came back just as fast to keep in conduct.

"Wow. I don't know what you did, but he clearly thinks you're superior. Are you sure you're just a newbie adventurer?" The trader tried to jest, but the glare then squarely landed on him.

"Don't ask such things if you're afraid of knowing the truth." Naofumi cautioned, sneering at the man, who lost his composure, nearly making the glasses fall. He then aimed his glares at the other slaves that were staring, making them shrink back in fear.

"Scary… Naofumi made them all quiet just by looking at them…" Ake said to himself in awe. Suddenly, they heard a cough. A few of them echoing inside the circus tent. "What was that? A little girl?" The knight wondered. It was coming from one of the other cages, covered in dusty curtains. Naofumi and Ake walked towards those cages and observed.

"You shouldn't mind those ones. Those are the demi-humans that are more sickly or younger or perhaps both. More or less, a discount." The trader explained offhandedly, then observed inside with them. There wasn't much inside, except for a couple of corpses, an old minotaur about to kick the bucket, and two sickly girls inside the cage. One of them had raccoon ears, brown hair, red eyes and rags for clothes. She was coughing quite terribly, as it was probably because she didn't have water for a long time. The other one had wolf ears, dog-like features, blue eyes, short black hair and rags as well. Once the curtains opened up, she noticed the two men and the dealer looking at them, and immediately growled, as if she's trying to protect the raccoon girl.

Ake looked like he was going to cry. Children didn't deserve to be chained up and enslaved like this. The dealer only smiled, wondering what the answer Naofumi will give. Suddenly the man turned to the dealer, pointing to the raccoon girl and the wolf child. "Where did you find those two?" He asked.

"Apparently, they were left right near my patron's... well, dead patron's doorway. Couldn't let them be snatched away by a thief." The dealer smiled, but Naofumi saw through the visage of the dealer. While the top hat man tried to keep his face at Naofumi, his eyes behind the glasses gave a slight glance towards the children.

"Well well. The trader has a heart." Naofumi gently alerted them, making their heads look at him closer. He then knelt down, got a good look at them, and then smiled. "You remember me?" The light revealed his face more, the two girls widening their eyes in surprise. This was the man who saved them from being sold by that noble. "I'll take these two." The Shield Hero declared, shocking the dealer, Ake and the two girls.

"Y-You sure? T-They're pretty young, so…" The dealer stuttered and tried to redirect the offer, but the Shield Hero shook his head.

"Did I stutter? Get these two out of their cages." Naofumi demanded, with the trader obliging. Pulling out his canteen filled with fresh water, he offered it to the raccoon girl. "Drink this."

"E-Eh… b-but…." The raccoon girl mumbled in fear, but the wolf girl growled, baring her fangs.

"No! You probably poisoned it!" She snapped at him, but he narrowed his eyes. He retracted the canteen and squirted a bit of water into his mouth to drink for himself.

"No poison. Now drink. I can't have your coughs alert anybody." Naofumi offered again, this time, not taking no for an answer. The wolf girl growled defensively again and was about to attack, but the raccoon girl put her hands on the girl's shoulder.

"I-It's okay… Keel." She coughed out, and took the canteen, drinking up the contents. It felt refreshing and hydrating, as the contents slid down her dry throat, like she could breathe again.

"H-Hey… could I get some too, Raphtalia?" The wolf girl Keel asked, to which the raccoon girl Raphtalia nodded with a small smile. Giving the canteen to Keel, she tried to drink it… and not a drop came out. "Hey! You drank it all!" She frowned, which made Raphtalia widen her eyes and look down in guilt.

"S-Sorry." She said, but was then surprised when the canteen was taken back by Naofumi, and the cage was opened.

"Do you have water, Ake?" Naofumi asked, but Ake shook his head.

"N-No… I don't... Sorry." The young knight looked down in guilt. Sighing, Naofumi had to take this in his own hands... before forgetting to do one thing.

"Ake." He called his name again, the young knight looking at him once more.

"Y-Yes?"

"Join my party." The man asked again, with Ake nodding, albeit hesitating a little. The man thought that it was a bad time to ask, but he was in a hurry after all. Seeing his name in the party list on the HUD, Naofumi opened the Job System Wheel again. Now that he had Ake on his side, he can choose another Job. Spinning it, he arrived with a singular Job.

**Magus**

**A primordial controller of the elements, cast and conjure them out of your will, whether it would be raging firestorms, icy terror, bolts from the heavens, destructive floods, and even the stars themselves! Can use wands, rods, daggers and staves.**

Selecting it without a second thought, he then swapped classes to the magus.

**Naofumi Iwatani; Magus Lv. 3**

**HP: 450  
**

**MP: 600**

**Attack: 9**

**Defense: 7**

**Speed: 20**

**STR: 5  
**

**VIT: 8  
**

**DEX: 10  
**

**INT: 45  
**

**WIS: 30  
**

**LUK: 20**

His stick then took the glowing shape of a wand. Magical runes and glyphs appeared around the man, as he chanted his spell.

"**I call upon the tranquil seas, offer and drink deep thy precious bounty for us and our allies. Fluid Aura!**"

A huge ball of water materialized as Naofumi waved his wand, controlling the water until it shrank in size. Soon, it was the size of a water bottle, enough for the canteen to hold, and carefully, he let the water inside. Closing it up, he gave it to the wolf child. "Drink." Naofumi ordered the wolf girl to drink it. While hesitant, she eventually put her lips on the lid and drank. The taste was indeed heavenly.

"There. The price for these two is 60 silver, although I can reapply their seals again for another 2 silver on top, if that's-."

Suddenly, there were footsteps heading towards the tent entrance. It sounded like metal.

"Shit…! They're onto us!" Naofumi gritted his teeth, swapped back to **Assassin**, grabbed his two slaves, and running towards the other end of the tent, with Ake barely keeping up as well.

"H-Hey, what about-!" The dealer began to stop Naofumi, but a gold coin was tossed into his hands as they left. He then began to smile. _'60 for the girls, 40 for the diversion. You do great business, Naofumi.'_

Just as he finished that thought, a platoon of knights stormed from the front. "You there! Slave dealer!" The leader of the platoon called to the dealer, who turned his head creepily. "Have you seen the Shield Hero and another young man he has been holding captive?"

"Captive? That's new. Thought the young man was a criminal too. The king is making up all sorts of stories now, is he?" The slave trader smirked, which was making the knight pretty annoyed. "I have not, but maybe you should check the sluice. Now beat it. I have cleaning to do." He informed them the misleading information, brushing off the knights while closing up the cage.

"Tsk, figures that a man who sells slaves wouldn't tell on criminals and their activities. To the entrance, men! We must blockade him if he tries to leave!" The knights ran off, but not before the leader spat on the floor in a rude fashion. The trader paid no mind. After all…

...these knights and royalty are even lesser than the shit these animals lay.

**.o0o.**

"Hurry!" The Shield Hero and the knight ran as fast as they could. Despite taking the back entrance, they were spotted not long after, thanks to Ake hitting his leg on some barrels. Running right through the townspeople, more and more knights were alerted by their presence. Soon, they reached the gate, but it was blocked by a platoon of knights, with tower shields and spears pointing at them.

"Damn…!" They stopped, as the knights closed in and encircled them with swords. They were now trapped. Setting the children down and putting the frightened Raphtalia and Keel between him and Ake, both of them drew out what they had, Ake with his sword and shield out, and Naofumi with his shield in his **Shield Hero** job class. "Protect the children, Ake." He told the frightened man, who could only nod and draw his weapons. The two children shook in fear, seeing the humans aim their malice towards their new owners and liberators. The fright was getting to him, Naofumi thought, but he has to brave it through. But soon, they heard more footsteps, and as they came into view, Naofumi could narrow his eyes.

It was the princess, Malty, smiling sinisterly, along with Motoyasu, Ren, Itsuki, and their party members, who don't look particularly happy compared to Malty.

"There you are, Naofumi." Motoyasu pointed to the man in anger with his Spear. "Come with us and answer for your crimes!"

"What crimes? You already know that the trial was a sham. The King being a sore loser like always?" Naofumi barbed.

"That trial was still a trial! You can't just walk out of it scot-free!" The Spear growled out, with Malty on his side smirking.

"You'd best listen, Shield Hero. You can't escape your punishment that awaits!" The Princess haughtly goaded, knowing that the Shield Hero couldn't attack. How wrong she was.

"The same goes for you, Princess Ass." Naofumi spoke up. "So shut up." That got her sparking her rage at him.

"You...! When we drag you back there, you'll regret ever speaking against me!" Naofumi smirked when she screeched at him. Motoyasu tucked her closer to him as he readied himself to strike.

"Naofumi, there's no need to resist. Come with us, now." Itsuki spoke his words, his bow drawn and arrow ready to let loose.

"I promise you that you won't be unfairly punished. Just please comply with us." Ren added, his sword drawn out and pointing at Naofumi.

"What are you saying, Ren? He has to be punished for the chaos he has caused!" Motoyasu barked at the Sword Hero, before focusing back at Naofumi. "No more! We're taking you in!"

Only silence was met, the tension so big it could be cut with a knife. But the only answer they got…

… was a smirk.

"Pfft." Naofumi let out from his mouth, the heroes and the princess taking some offense to it. "The only thing that's going to happen is our escape. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Hah! Seriously? Are you so stupid enough that you would think to even take one step against our Knights?!" Malty retorted.

"It worked the last time." Naofumi noted, seeing a few knights bristle against that. "And I have a little special something that will help in that endeavour." Naofumi countered, beginning to pull out... something. Ake noticed what he was pulling out and looked at him worryingly.

"N-Naofumi, are you really…!"

"Yes. I am. Get ready."

That put everybody else on edge. The heroes readied themselves, while the knights held their swords tightly. What could it be? A secret weapon? A lethal bomb? A deadly plague? The tension multiplied tenfold as Naofumi revealed what it was within his cloak.

His stick.

"W-What? That's… just a stick." One of the knights looked at what Naofumi had in his hand.

"Yes. It is. Ironwood, to be exact."

To see Naofumi completely serious saying that he can escape numerous platoons with a stick was… laughable. Soon, the knights and Malty erupted into hysterical laughter, one that echoed throughout the entire town.

"HAHAHAHA! NO WAY, THE SHIELD HERO ISN'T SERIOUSLY GOING TO KILL US WITH THAT!"

"OHHHHH I'M SO SCARED OF THAT WITTLE STICK!"

"CMON, GROW UP, SHIELD HERO!"

But that was exactly what he wanted.

The Three Heroes were definitely confused and looked at each other. If it was a weapon, then Naofumi shouldn't be able to hold it. So why did he bring it out…?

"**Blades of ice, be my cage…"**

It was then that they realized what he was doing.

"**...arise now, O dark waters, and glaciate thy heavens!"**

It was a diversion.

"He's casting magic!"

"**...ICICLE PRISON!"**

Large icicles began to shoot out from the ground. The knights stopped their laughing immediately and saw the giant pillars rise into the sky. They panicked as Naofumi, Raphtalia, Keel and Ake were within the growing mass of icicles twice the size of a house.

"Wow! Great plan, Naofumi!" Ake praised, with the slaves looking in wonder at the beautiful icicles. But it won't hold them for long. They could hear the fire magic beginning to be channeled.

"You three, keep your heads to the ground. When I saw go, follow me and go for the exit. Understand?" The Shield Hero instructed, but he didn't wait for their confirmation. Immediately changing back to the Shield Hero class, he began to channel his own energy. Raphtalia and Keel complied, looking at the energy buildup, while Ake later lowered his head, his shield protecting the two.

"_**REPEL!"**_

A strong gravitational force pushed all the icicles outward, making them all topple down towards the knights. Everybody panicked as the icicles began to fall, crushing a few knights, while blowing all of them back. One of them toppled over the stone gate and drawbridge, forcing it down, with the phalanx of knights scattering. "GO!" Naofumi commanded, as he picked up the girls and ran through the ruined phalanx formation of spear knights and escaped through the gate, while the other knights try their best to either run from the icicles or repel them.

Even the heroes' parties weren't unfazed either.

"**Flame Thrust!**" Motoyasu cried out, piercing the icicle tower that was toppling down towards them, and shattering it into shards.

"**Rapid Fire Arrow!**" Itsuki launched his arrows at the shards, turning them all into water and dust. "Damn… that was just terrible. How could he use magic? Was that a wand he used?"

"No, it was clearly a stick… so how was he able to do it?" Ren thought out loud, his laboured breaths becoming more out of irritation rather than tiredness.

Malty too was salty and irritated as well from that trick. "Curse him! I won't be fooled again by that Shield Demon!"

Motoyasu, however, was the more angriest. Gripping his spear in anger, he let out a roar. "DAMN YOU NAOFUMIIIIIII!"

The scream only made the escaping Naofumi smirk in the distance.

* * *

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! (12/17/2019)**


	5. Chapter 5: Promise and Determination

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_Once upon a time, there lived a human who was tasked by the world to uphold a shield. Not just any Shield, but a Legendary Shield said to withstand any and all attacks. He was dubbed the Shield Hero, but many people did not see his strength, and would soon cast him out. However, his unbreakable will did not falter, and he has chosen to help defend the people who has treated him with care and love: the demi-human kind. With allies willing to help him, not because he wielded the Shield, but because how valiant and friendly he was, he was able to rise up against those who oppressed him and created peace for demi-human kind and human kind, despite the hatred the man has garnered due to his actions against humans._

_Despite all that he had to endure, the man had an overabundance of love deep within his heart. Yes, the hero was still a man: capable to hatred, losing control and making mistakes, but deep down, he never gave up, even after all that went against him, from his fellow Heroes to the Queen of Melromarc. While some have lost themselves and sealed their own fate, he never gave up towards the Spear Hero, Sword Hero and Bow Hero. Just like how you always wanted to be! Now, sleep tight. See you in the morning..._

_\- A bedtime story about the legend of the Shield Hero, the last one told from parent to child_

* * *

The forest grass was rustling with the wind, only the sounds of enemy mobs bouncing or floating about. Within the deeper parts of the forest, a pair of men carrying two girls slowed down, panting, as they were a fair distance away from the kingdom. Gently, they let the two girls down, who were still a little shell-shocked from the action that has occurred.

"Haah… haah… whew..." The knight Ake huffed, his hands on his knees and his breathing laboured. They had just got out of a tense life-or-death situation involving the royalty and the knights, and escaped unscathed, thanks to Naofumi's... power. The two girls, looking at the two men who have saved them, let out their breaths that they were holding for the past minute, filled with tension and awe. "That… I-I won't lie, Naofumi… dangerous…!" Ake tried to form words to the Shield Hero. "But... t-thanks…"

"Hm." Naofumi nodded, not looking worse for wear, before his eyes draped over the pair of slave girls. Kneeling down, he began to check up on the state of the two girls. "You two okay?"

"Y-You saved us… Why...?" Keel wondered out loud, stunned at the man's heroism. The young girl first believed that this man was purely a fraud, leading them into a trap, but now seeing what he was capable of, the wolf girl looked at Naofumi in a new light.

"Thank you… master." Raphtalia bowed her head, her breathing laboured for an unknown reason. She smiling weakly at the Shield Hero, until she began to cough. Her skin looked a touch more paler, with the three of them looking at her in worry. Keel came to her side, helping her ease the cough, before Naofumi knelt down.

"You're sick." Naofumi simply said. He didn't need to look at their status to know that she was suffering from a sickness. What sickness, he wanted to know, so the man opened up her status page.

**Raphtalia; Slave Lv. 1**

**Status: Cold, hunger**

"I-I…" Raphtalia stuttered, scared to admit that she does have a cold. She remembered reeling from the punishments that her masters took joy in, seeing that she was ill. Keel went in between Naofumi and Raphtalia.

"P-Please don't hurt her! I can cover for her duties!" Keel tried to negotiate, when there really is nothing to negotiate. Naofumi only raised an eyebrow. "I-I may not be as good as Raphtalia, but I-I'll do my best…! Please…" Tears brimming in her eyes, indicating that she was both serious and afraid. Ake could only hold his breath, speculating what exactly she meant by 'duties'. Naofumi only narrowed his eyes.

"Doesn't matter to me. Move aside." The Shield Hero demanded in a monotone, leaving no room for argument. The man probably did not mean it, but his eyes narrowing to his bone-chilling glare once again. Keel, despite the fear and her instinct telling her to move and obey, stayed still, tears now flowing down. He even heard her mutter a small 'no', before Naofumi sighed, the glare dissipating into a look of concern and frustration. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

The three of them blinked at him with confusion. Why would Naofumi just let it all go so easily? The man began to walk into the forest and pulled some grass near some tree, before turning his head towards them still standing. "What? We gotta move out, or they'll find us. We're burning daylight and wasting time unless we reach a nearby town."

"U-Uh, yes master!" Both girls said, as they ran ahead. Ake didn't know what to think now, but one thing's for sure…

"Naofumi isn't into little girls. At least, that's for sure." The knight thought, before shaking the scandalous thought out of his head and ran to catch up to them.

**.o0o.**

"Ren! How could you just let them leave?"

The angered voice of Motoyasu argued against Ren's narrowed eyes. After the towers fell, which only caused a few casualties, numerous injuries, and some property damage, the heroes wanted to help and clean up, except for Ren, who wanted to train and get stronger immediately. The black-haired Sword Hero was on the cusp of leaving Melromarc to train with his party, but Motoyasu stopped him.

"What do you mean?" Ren inquired back. "They were clearly too far for me to reach them, and the safety of Melromarc and its citizens are important too."

"Capturing that criminal is just as important, if not more, Sword Hero!" Malty screeched at Ren. "Why, if it wasn't for him, then all this hassle wouldn't be happening!"

"Ugh, shut up…" Ren put his gloved hand on his nose, now getting very annoyed about all this. "I'm still not convinced about you and all this, Princess _Myne_." He emphasized the princess's adventurer name, seeing that she covered up her identity from the three Heroes. The reason why? Still unknown to them.

"W-What do you mean?" She asked, her belligerant eyes not taken off of Ren.

"Naofumi was providential in the strict evidence and testimony he provided." Ren looked down to the ground, like he was about to admit the truth. "While I don't believe that Naofumi was telling the full truth, even a blind man can can agree that the trial that you and your father set up was unfair and one-sided." The raven-haired swordsman explained, which got Malty heated up into an angered frenzy.

"H-How dare you! The trial was fair and conducted by all manners of royalty!" Malty huffed out, growling at Ren. Motoyasu got mad as well, just like always, and shot back at Ren.

"How could you say that to her, Ren?! A lady of royalty like her would never lie!" Ren got angry at that statement. Just how blind was he to the trial's machinations?

"Seriously, Motoyasu! Think about it for a second! Naofumi couldn't wield a weapon to slice somebody on the head, nor could he attack back. He probably didn't even use magic since there were no traces of elemental spells in the area!" Ren reasoned with Motoyasu, getting angrier that Motoyasu seemed to shake his head in denial.

"No! I refuse to believe it! How could you be taking his side! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I thought you were a reasonable man, but now that I'm seeing you acting like a child, I take it back!"

"Don't make me arrest you too!"

"Why can't you see beyond your dick for once?!"

The argument began to escalate, the logic beginning to be shoved aside to be replaced with threats. The other party members did not know what to do. Motoyasu's party tried to step back a little from the heat that was building up, while Ren's party looked at each other, gravid with unease.

"Guys! Please, stop! Arguing about this isn't gonna go anywhere! We need to train and raise our levels to fight against the Wave!" Itsuki tried to interrupt, but that only resulted in Ren and Motoyasu glaring at Itsuki.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" They both shouted at the young Bow Hero, who backed away in fear. While the argument continued for a few moments, just barely close to erupting into a street brawl, they stopped and huffed. Itsuki was right in one thing. They need to grind and raise their levels.

"Tsk, it's a waste of time trying to talk with you, Motoyasu. Don't come crying to us for help for ever again." Ren snarled in a cold manner, before his uneasy teammates left the gate.

"Hmph. Took the words out of my mouth." Motoyasu replied, brushing it off before heading back to the inn with his disgruntled party. Itsuki was the only Hero left watching, the other onlookers dissipating, his party unsure of how to take it.

'_Damn you, Naofumi… Why did you have to do this to us…?'_ Itsuki's last thoughts played out in his mind, as he began to walk out of the gate too, heavily frustrated, but still wanting to train. He needs to unload some frustration on some monsters...

**.o0o.**

Lute Village.

A quaint little town nearby the city of Melromarc. Proud of their local trade and produce, plus the community is much tighter compared to Melromarc. The streets were not crowded, but the locals were welcoming to everybody. They used to be famous for being a mining settlement, but ever since the First Wave of Calamity, the cavern was infested with monsters, and mining has stopped being part of their economy. That didn't burden the people however, as they simply upped their agricultural and pharmaceutical needs. Naofumi could smell the air: rustic, but tight. He could see the marketplace being much more lively.

"Home…" Ake whispered to himself, looking at the town's entrance sign. It was only two years ago when he left home to enlist for the knights... and now look at him...

"Hmm…" Naofumi began to ponder to himself, which made Ake look at him with intrigue.

"What are you thinking about, Naofumi?" He asked, and Naofumi looked at the sign that welcomed them to Lute village.

"Nothing. I just never been to this town. Was it recently built or something?" Naofumi asked Ake, which made the girls look at him in confusion.

"N-No... Well, if recently built like seventy five years ago, then yeah. Not as ancient as the kingdoms or major cities though..." Ake explained, a bit of pride filling his heart a little for talking about his own town, before deflating. He just came back after being dishonourably discharged and branded a traitor of the ranks of the Juvenile Knights. Just... what would the people say about that?

"So since you know about it so much, I'm going out on a limb and say this is your home, right?" Ake nodded, before gripping his shoulder. It was almost as if he was disgusted at himself.

"Yeah..." The conversation ended as they walked in. The citizenry greeted them in a civil manner, much like how a house owner invites his guests, before their eyes laid upon the nervous knight. That began the whispers, which made Ake cringe, but Naofumi slapped him on the back.

"Calm down. Listen to what they say." He spoke out, smiling a little. Ake looked at him, surprised that the Shield Hero shocked him out of his hole, before he began to look around at the few people who were whispering among each other. It wasn't the hateful whisperings of gossip, but rather the excited whispers of happiness. Naofumi saw the change on Ake, from misery to shock.

"Seems like the people remember you." Naofumi noted, seeing Ake still shocked. He most likely will stay shocked, so Naofumi looked around the town. It was a nice quaint place, homes built on brick stand in a homely fashion, and he noticed that there was the Lord's office, a marketplace with the nice adults showing their wares of food and trinkets, and a nice open place where children were playing about. It was a good change of pace compared to Melromarc; it felt like every citizen had something bad to say to you without saying it. But here? This place was much more nicer. He was about to turn ahead... before he caught the two demi-human girls looking at the children, specifically with the ball they were playing with.

While Raphtalia kept quiet, staring at the children having fun, Keel keep instead kept her eyes towards the ball that two kids were playing with.

"B-Ball…" The dog-like instincts were beginning to react for the first time in a long time. She used to love playing with balls when she was much younger, but they were long suppressed. Now with this new sense of freedom, it felt like it was coming back, and she kept looking at it until she couldn't take it anymore. "BALL~!" She cheered, as she pounced towards the ball that the two now-surprised kids were playing with, and she would have been successful at grabbing it, if she had not been grabbed by the scruff of her neck by Naofumi.

"Keel." Naofumi simply addressed, without any sort of emotion. That tone of voice made her shiver and fear for her life. She knew the routine: go out of line, and she gets punished with either no food, some lashes, or perhaps both. Ake tried to reach for the pair, and Raphtalia gasped a little, shivering in fear as well, the tension making them scared at what Naofumi would do. Chills were coming up Keel's spine as she looked towards the empty eyes of Naofumi…

...and then she was unceremonially placed onto the ground.

"That ball isn't yours. Apologize." Keel let out her breath that she was holding, and bowed her head to the kids.

"I-I'm sorry, for disrupting your playtime and t-taking your b-ball…" She apologized rather meekly, but the boy and the girl smiled and waved it off, no harm done. Th three of them let out a sigh of relief, thanking whatever God was out there that the situation didn't escalate.

"Keel, come with me." Naofumi gently beckoned to the girl, who turned and followed along. Raphtalia checked up on Keel, making sure that she wasn't hurt or anything due to her recklessness. Soon, they arrived into the market district, where there were various stalls selling artisan foods and wares, but one particular stall was selling kids toys, including balls.

"Ake." Naofumi addressed to his only teenage party member, who stood in attention.

"Y-Yes, Naofumi?"

"Catch." The Shield Hero tossed a small bag of ten gold coins to the knight, who caught it with his hands. "You know this place so here's what I need you to do. Look after Keel, buy and restock, and catch up with whoever you want. Including a ball for Keel, whatever food you want, and even a room at the inn. We're gonna stay here and train until the Wave begins. Got it?"

"Y-Yes! Yes, sir Naofumi!" Ake stood to attention, and Keel was gobsmacked with happiness. Naofumi rolled his eyes and told Ake not to call him sir. The young teen can be so seriously sometimes, Naofumi's stray thoughts spoke out in his head. With the message and directives now delivered, Ake saluted, but asked Naofumi a question. "What will you do in the meantime?"

Naofumi patted a confused but hopeful Raphtalia in the head. "We're going to find an apothecary for Raphtalia. So before you leave, catch." The man dug into his pockets and pulled out a necklace. It was a blue crystal tied around a leather string.

"What's this?" Ake asked, inspecting it.

"It's what I call a Linkshell. Made it with some of the leftover materials back in Erhart's shop." Naofumi explained, pulling out his own Linkshell attached to a string.

**Linkshell**

**The power of crystals has given the hero the technology to directly communicate with party members or friends he has made with face chat and voice chat. Simply send a bit of mana into the crystal and you can communicate with a friend of your choice!**

"Basically, a way to communicate over long distances, even in dungeons. Send a bit of mana…" Naofumi instructed, and demonstrated it with sending a bit of mana into the crystal, making a small screen of his face appear, much like a hologram and a projector screen of Naofumi's head all in one. "...and we can send messages like this." Ake couldn't believe his eyes. He wasn't just traveling with a Shield Hero with powerful abilities inside of a stick, but he was also a genius in crafting too.

"Y-Yes! I'll do just that!" Ake smiled at that, and wore it around his neck.

"Now go. When you are done, tell us where you are and we will come and find you. Maybe say hi to your folks?" Naofumi informed, before Ake froze at those words, while walking off with the overly excited Keel.

_'F-Folks...? Would they accept me?'_

**.o0o.**

"Ball~, ball~ ball~!" Keel hummed to herself as she hugged the ball onto her chest, squeezing the life out of it. The former knight Ake smiled seeing her so happy, before buying the last of the food needed to make something good.

"Thank you, ma'am!" Ake gratefully accepted the paper bag of groceries and the baked treats, while paying the cashier. It all amounted to a singular golden coin thankfully.

"You're welcome, but... you look familiar. Could you perchance be...?" The cashier tried to ask, making the man widen his eyes in surprise. That was the third person who was close to recognizing him. Wanting to keep a low profile, the young man simply gripped his bag, trying to now show his eyes, and hurried out with Keel in tow.

_'There goes the low profile I wanted to_ _keep...'_ Ake bemoaned in his thoughts, before he walked cautiously through the marketplace, and towards the local inn. The man could even see the stares of a few other customers and merchants in the area, and Ake knew them from three years ago: They were the people he helped out around the town. The toy shop owner who was a mother of the little girl, the one that Keel tried to take the ball from, knew who Ake was simply from the face he had, and that he helped her countless times by taking good care of her daughter. A passerby farmer, who Ake spoke to for years when he was a kid, smiled wide and waved hello to him. And now the grocery clerk recognized the young man, as she was his surrogate aunt when he was growing up. Ake's heart began to shiver a little, the feeling of self shame beginning to rise. Keel wondered what the hurry was with Ake, until she was tugged hard enough to lose grip of her ball.

"Ah! My ball!" Keel cried out, releasing herself away from Ake and running towards the ball. The ball bounced ahead across the road of the marketplace, and the demi-human girl chased after it, weaving around the legs of adults. However, as soon as the ball was within arm's reach, it lands on the feet of a human, which made her stop.

"Oh?" An elderly man picked up the bouncy ball that Keel dropped, and it made her freeze. The old man had gray hair reaching from his head, across the sideburns and down towards the chin. His cheeks were drooping a little due to age and his eyebrows were a little bushy, but his onyx eyes were still sharp enough to notice the little girl below. The man wore a robe of beige and blue sleeves, made of sheep wool, along with a scarf-like quilt tied and draped over his shoulders across his chest. Keel looked up to the old man, and immediately got intimidated by him. He did not look like a man who would hurt somebody out of the sheer hell of it, but it still made her freeze.

"A-A-Ah..." Keel tried to speak, expecting a glower to appear, but the old man was kind enough to smile and hand her the ball.

"I believe this is yours, correct, little one?" The old man offered, which Keel took in a heart beat. Taking the ball gently, she smiled brightly and nodded.

"Y-Yeah! T-Thank you!" She stammered nervously, making the old man laugh jovially.

"No need to be polite. After all, I wouldn't have been mayor if I wasn't kind to everyone, especially children like you." The now-proclaimed mayor responded in kind, before hearing Ake go through the crowd.

"Keel! There you... are..." The knight tried to call her, but stopped at the sight of the mayor, who looked back at Ake. Within the young knight's mind, he knew that, while the meeting was inevitable, he wished that he kept a stronger hold on Keel. The mayor looked at the young knight with a humongous wave of nostalgia.

"Well well... so you returned." The mayor's serious face landed on Ake, who froze. That feeling of self-shame arose once more as the mayor walked around the young Keel and approached the young man. "I never thought you would return like this, son..."

"F-Father..." Ake trembled at the touch, lowering his head to avert his gaze. Many who lived in his town, along with overhearing the conversation, suddenly gasped. This was Ake? The son of the mayor who ran away from the town of Lute to enter knighthood in the capital city of Melromarc without his father's permission? "I-I'm..." The young man began to apologize, until he felt the arms of the old mayor wrap around him.

"I'm so glad that you've returned home, Ake... My son..." The mayor sobbed out, his eyes leaking in tears. Ake was simply stunned into silence. He believed that his father would hate him for leaving the family to become a knight... so he could be brave. And yet, he came back in shame, with his tail between his legs. But here he was, with his dad crying his eyes out, and Ake realized that he himself was crying too. His arms trembling, they wrapped around his old man and cried with him.

"I'm sorry, Father..."

"It's okay... You're finally home safe." Many of the onlookers smiled sweetly, a few of them even crying since they knew the two of them. Soon, they broke apart, and Ake felt renewed happiness overwriting the shame in his heart.

"U-Uhhh..." Keel looked a little dumbfounded at the scene, but Ake knelt down and introduced her to his father.

"Don't be shy, Keel. This is my dad, Keel. He's the mayor of the village." Ake politely showed the girl to her father, who smiled sweetly at the demi-human.

"My my. Raising a child during knighthood, son?" The mayor joked about, which made Ake blush profusely.

"N-No...! I... I freed her from Melromarc with the help of the Shield Hero." He corrected, which made the mayor widen his eyes in surprise.

"The Shield Hero? THE Shield Hero?" The mayor exclaimed, with Ake nodding and pulling out his Linkshell.

"Quick, I'll get him on call." Ake requested, before channelling mana into the device.

**.o0o.**

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi wondering what he wanted to do with her, until he turned around towards another building, one with a potion sign above its door. "Come. We need to go to the apothecary, and find medicine for you. That sickness is kill you." The man gently told the raccoon girl, who had no choice but to follow him into the shop. As they entered the store, they saw potions lined up on wooden shelves, along with empty beakers and flasks for any Alchemists that would want to make their own concoctions. Raphtalia was amazed at the sight, as she never entered an apothecary's shop before. However, that wonder was short-lived, as she coughed up a storm. Naofumi looked at the raccoon girl, with unreadable emotions, and then walked to the counter.

"Excuse me." He politely asked the shopkeep, who turned around from his work. "Do you have any medicine that heals illnesses?"

"Is it for that little girl there?" The old shopkeep asked, looking at Raphtalia, who hid behind Naofumi's legs.

"Do you have any?" Naofumi asked again, not wanting to waste time. The shopkeep only sighed in disappointment.

"No. I ran out of the herbs that were made to help illnesses such as these. I'm sorry." The shopkeep answered in a despondent manner, before Naofumi opened his hand…

...revealing a high-quality herb.

"Would this be enough?" Naofumi offered the herb, which was actually the 'grass' that he just pulled out nearby the tree. The shopkeep widened his eyes at the sight of it, picking it up and examining it.

"Why… these herbs are the highest quality I have ever seen! H-How did you…?" The shopkeep was going to ask, before Naofumi banged the table lightly with his fist.

"Can you make it or not?" Naofumi demanded a third time. The shopkeep fumbled a bit, surprised at the forwardness of this young man, before he nodded. He turned around and began to make the medicine on his crafting table. Raphtalia looked at the counter, watching him do his work, but was then turned around by Naofumi, him looking straight in the eyes.

"Raphtalia. Make sure you drink all of the medicine, okay?" Naofumi asked, almost like a concerned parent, his eyes full of worry. After all of the things this man has done, Raphtalia nodded, entrusting herself to him.

"Okay done. Best you take it now, little one. Sickness potions are best potent once they are done." The shopkeep smiled and handed the flask of medication to Naofumi. "Be careful, it's quite bitter." He added, which made Raphtalia tilt her head in confusion, possibly not knowing what it meant. Naofumi unpopped the cork of the potion flask and gave it to Raphtalia to drink.

"Drink." He ordered, and Raphtalia did just that with no trouble… except when the tongue touched the medication. Then she shriveled.

"Eww…." She stuck her tongue out, not able to handle the taste, until the slave crest is activated. Feeling the pain, she shrieked until Naofumi grasped her shoulder.

"Drink it." He commanded once more, being firmer with her than before. She tried to shake her head, before Naofumi furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.

"Come on! If you don't get better, then you're more like dead weight to me!" Naofumi spoke rather harshly to her, which made the raccoon girl gasp and look at him with fear in her eyes. Flashbacks of her parents and images of them plus Naofumi leaving her made her heart nearly freeze. Having no real choice in the matter, she took the medicine and chugged it all of it down with the fewest gulps she can muster. Naofumi even plugged her own nose to help dull the taste. Soon, the pain stopped, and her throat felt like it cleared up almost instantly. She hasn't felt this way in weeks. To think medicine would work that fast… "Are you ready?" Naofumi asked her, the harsh tone gone from his voice.

Feeling a lot better, she nodded and walked with him, exiting the apothecary. As they walked through the town, she looked down to the floor, the words ringing in her ears.

"_**If you don't feel better, then you're more like dead weight to me!"**_

His words made her shiver, unconsciously having her hands hold his own. Naofumi looked down, noticing the scared raccoon girl, realizing that he may have gone a little far. It was true, however. If she got even more sick by refusing medicine, he would have just dropped her off here.

"M-Master…" Raphtalia quietly got the attention of her master, who looked at her. She then found the words die in her throat, and she looked like she could run away at any moment.

Sighing to himself, Naofumi looked at the raccoon child with gentler eyes. "Look, I'm sorry that I said those things. But I needed you to take your medication, or else you would have been weakened and possibly died. I can't just make you shove it down your throat." Naofumi stated, trying to soften the blow. "And I can't take care of you when you're dead. Nobody can. You know that."

"..." Raphtalia has those words sunk in. Inside her mind, he was right. She wasn't going to be useful dead. Nor did she want to die. Clinging onto Naofumi's hand, she began to let loose a few tears. "M-Master…"

"Yeah?" Naofumi replied with concern.

"D-Don't leave me please…" She begged, hugging the arm like her lifeline. Naofumi's expression softened, the sad little girl crying like a sad little girl, and inside, it hurt.

Putting a hand on top of her head and ruffling her hair, he had Raphtalia look at him. "I won't." His two words made her smile, and she rushed to hug him crying in his chest.

After a few minutes, the crying dissolved into sobs, and then disappeared. Releasing Raphtalia, Naofumi gave her a small head pat. "Better?"

"Y-Yes. Thank you, master…"

"No need for the master talk. Call me whatever you want."

"Y-Yes… Master Naofumi."

Naofumi only sighed, seeing as if this is the best he's going to get.

**Ring ring!**

A ringing sound was heard, which made Raphtalia look left and right. Then she saw Naofumi pull out his Linkshell, and activated it, showing a smiling Ake inside a room.

**"Naofumi! It's me, Ake! Can you see** **me?" **Ake asked, wondering if he was using the Linkshell right. Naofumi looked at the screen and nodded.

"Yeah we hear you. Are you done? Where are you right now?"

**"We're all going in the town mayor's home!"** Ake informed with cheeriness in his voice, along with Keel waving in the back. There was also another man there with him in the back, who seems to be an old man. The town mayor perhaps?

"Hmph right. You go ahead first and I'll meet you there. I have to form a Teleport Stone here too." Naofumi replied, closing the linkshell, and then looked at Raphtalia.

"One more thing, Raphtalia. You're gonna have to fight. I'm not going to have you or Keel sit around while everybody else is fighting and doing their part, okay?"

"A-ah, y-yes Master...!"

"Good. Now let's hurry."

She nodded, hoping to not be useless again, as they continued to walk. Her new master was a lot different than her old one, so in her heart, Raphtalia had resolved herself.

She will fight for her master.

**.o0o.**

"Hyahh!"

A sword swing got rid of some Orange Balloons effortlessly, the exp going into his system.

"Tsk, seems like we're evening out. These mobs are too weak now." Ren said to himself, shaking off his sword arm.

"Sir Ren!" One of his companions, a priest girl from the trial, ran up to Ren, who noticed her running.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"No. Just informing you that we just finished up dealing with all the animals here too." She informed him, the rest of them coming up behind her. "Shall we go deeper inside the forest?"

"Yes. Good idea." Ren nodded, and began to lead them deeper. The sounds of whistling winds were the only noise they heard, until the same party member wanted to ask something.

"Uhh… S-Sir Ren?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you…" She looked a little nervous.

"What is it?" Ren said, possibly aware of her nervousness.

"I-I wanted to know, do you really think that the Shield Hero really is a criminal?" The party member looked away, afraid of the answer, but Ren only had this to say.

"Do you?"

"Eh?" She looked confused at his cool attitude towards the question, despite the argument towards the Spear Hero.

"Do you think that Naofumi is a criminal?" Ren genuinely asked.

"U-Uhh…" The three party members actually didn't know what to say to him, but their answers were more apparent when Ren looked at their face. The priest had a furrowed eyebrowed look on her face, the mage with his book tilted his head and wondered what to say, the thief seemed to be in the negative on that question, the little monk girl huffed and the big bearded gruff man simply closed his eyes, as if he was wondering about that question as well. The best he was going to get out of them was an 'I don't know.'

"I know he isn't a criminal, but I'm still searching for him. I don't know what Motoyasu and Itsuki are thinking about this situation, but now, I couldn't care about them." Ren simply answered.

"Wow… but wait…" The monk girl began to wonder. "Why are you looking for the Shield Hero?"

Ren looked at the ranger with silence, which made her a bit uncomfortable. But he had an answer for her.

'_The reason on how he cast that spell. On how he knows so much about this world.'_

"The reason he kept slaves and another criminal with him." Ren answered to them, while having another answer in his mind. The other party members nodded, thinking that it's a moral thing, and stopped their questioning. As they walked, Ren only thought of one thing…

'_How, Naofumi? What are you hiding?'_

* * *

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**


	6. Chapter 6: Ready, Set, Train

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

Some time has passed since that day. That day of promises, along with a dinner party, came along endless amounts of training and foraging to gain levels, equipment and bonds between the four friends. When Keel met with Raphtalia that day after taking the medicine, the wolf girl was happy her best friend was all better. The mayor was more than happy to accommodate for Ake, Naofumi and the two girls, after hearing the story on how Ake saved Naofumi, struck up a quick friendship with the Cardinal Hero, and now escaped Melromarc with two slave girls. Now after a full stomach from a dinner party, browsing in the market, cleaning themselves up a little inside the mayor's home, it was time for some work.

When they finished with cleaning themselves, Naofumi began to make his own plans, that one involving the mine. That was the first target dungeon he wanted to figure out how to deal with, so the young man began to plan. First, the girls and their weapons needed maintenance.

**.o0o.**

"_Ake. Mr. Rolfe." Naofumi caught the attention of the men inside the Lord's home. The two of them were discussing how the town was after Ake left to Melromarc, until Naofumi walked in, clean and refreshed, holding his folded clothes._

"_Yes, Naofumi?" The knight replied, looking at the man's serious face._

"_First off, thank you for your hospitality. I never would have thought that you would go so far to help us." Naofumi bowed his head to the mayor, who nodded back._

_"You don't have to thank me, O Shield Hero. Ake has told me everything that has happened with Melromarc and their treachery... I never would have thought King Aultcray would do such a thing." The mayor shook his head on the thought. "But what else is it do you need?"_

_"Would you mind if I kept a Teleport Stone in your home?" Naofumi asked, showing a rotating Teleport Stone from his inventory that he just constructed via the materials the trader in Lute offered. The man looked quite intrigued as to what it was, much like how Erhart and Ake saw it, but Naofumi explained how it works as the mayor inspected it._

_"I do not mind... I just never saw it before. It looks quite like the mesmerizing decoration if you hadn't explained it to me." The mayor wondered out loud. Naofumi smiled, thanking the man before placing it at the mayor's large window sill, showing the marketplace in the sunset. Outstretching his hand, he released his own mana, attuning to it, before acquiring the ability to teleport to it whenever he wanted.  
_

"_Anything else?" Ake stated, but Naofumi shook his head. The two girls finished their baths, and noticed Naofumi turning and walking to them._

"_Perfect timing. Are you two ready?" The hero asked to the two girls, who just looked at each other confused._

"_About what, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked inquisitively, and Naofumi put his hands on his hips._

"_We're gonna get you weapons and new sets of armor. Relax for now, Ake." Grabbing them by their newly bought night clothes, the two girls did not have a chance to process what Naofumi said, until their master cast his spell. __**"RETURN!"**__ With three blinks of light, the three were gone, with Ake and the mayor now left in the room._

_"He's quite a fellow Hero you have. Resourceful, yet wise. You would do well to learn under him, Ake."_

_"D-Dad..."_

**.o0o.**

_The blacksmith hummed a little tune as he was in the business of sharpening a weapon. It has been a good day today, with the kingdom buying more equipment and metal materials to help with reconstruction. He had heard of the Shield Hero's daring and dastardly escape from the confines of Melromarc after his brawl. It was a tale that many of the people were speaking about. Some were pretty humourous, where the Shield Hero single-handedly punched the army of knights so hard, they formed a bowling ball that bowled and destroyed the gateway, allowing him to escape. Others were more self-contained, as the Shield Hero performed witchcraft to conjure ice from the demonic realm, making his escape. While the people preferred the humourous one, the more authoritative and religious higher-ups preferred Naofumi a criminal and a heretic. A darn shame.  
_

_It was also a shame that Melromarc loves to use demi-humans to 'speed up' the process of repairs, when in reality, using little children would actually slow it down tremendously. The knights and owners of raw materials who helped were also peeved that they weren't getting any sorts of rewards either. So it was a lose-lose project, where nobody gains anything, other than the simple repairs that the nobles and royalty desired to keep themselves safe._

_As he finishes the sharpening of the iron sword, three flashes of light appeared at the front of his counter. Erhart became deadly silent at that prospect. Who was it that invaded his shop/home? How did they get inside? His shop was closed! No thieves were going to get the surprise on him this time!_

_Grabbing his new sharpened sword, he tiptoed inside, seeing three shadows, and then kicked the door, letting out a battlecry and lunging to the shadow._

"_RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH-!" The bald man jumped towards his targets… only to stop at the sight of Naofumi about to use his shield. The two girls hid behind the Hero, scared at the scary bald man about to kill the Shield Hero. "Oh."_

"_Yeah. Oh." Naofumi parroted back, deadpanned._

**.o0o.**

"_There we go! Two Iron Swords for the two young ladies here, along with some new clothes!" The blacksmith said with a smile, as the two of them were looking at each other in awe._

"_Wow…" Raphtalia was in awe at her clothes, with soft red and black, a linen white underdress and a red ribbon around her collarbone. Keel was in the same position as well, but was still a little unsure about it._

"_I dunno… I feel a little restricted with this…" Keel murmured, with Erhart and Naofumi looking at her with concern._

"_Restricted? You mean that there's too much clothing?" Erhart asked, noting that Keel was trying to move her arms and legs around. Keel nodded, also not being used to a sword, compared to Raphtalia easily accommodating._

"_I see…" Naofumi pondered, then turned to Erhart. "Do you have any lighter clothes? Like a brawler's garb or a monk's garb or something like that?"_

"_Yeah, I do. I'm guessing you want gauntlets too?" Erhart, understanding what Naofumi and Keel would want, suggested, with Naofumi giving him a nod. Running to his wares, he pulls out a sky blue monk's temple garb, sleeveless on both the legs and the arms areas. A brown belt adorned its waist while a loincloth draped down on the pelvic area. Keel saw how beautiful it looked, and Naofumi confirmed the purchase._

_Keel dressed up in her new set of clothes, along with some bronze gauntlets and bronze greaves for her feet and hands, along with some retractable claws. It fit her, Naofumi thought, as a wolf is more inclined to use her claws and fangs. "Thank you, Mr, Erhart, sir." Keel bowed her head, the more-liberating clothes allowed her to move more easily. Naofumi, thankful that this is now behind them, checked their stats._

**Raphtalia; Swordmaiden Lv. 1**

**[Slave Child]**

**HP: 100  
**

**MP: 50  
**

**Attack: 15**

**Defense: 8**

**Speed: 15**

**STR: 13**

**VIT: 12**

**DEX: 12**

**INT: 8  
**

**WIS: 9  
**

**LUK: 12**

**Keel; Pugilist Lv. 1**

**[Slave Child]**

**HP: 100  
**

**MP: 45  
**

**Attack: 14  
**

**Defense: 6**

**Speed: 18**

**STR: 12**

**VIT: 11**

**DEX: 14**

**INT: 8**

**WIS: 12**

**LUK: 12**

_Naofumi hummed at the sight of their statuses. They weren't bad at all. He then looked back at Erhart. "Then a gold coin should cover it, Erhart." Naofumi pulled out a gold coin for the man, who took it gingerly, giving up on trying to give him change. After all, a gold coin is a hundred silver, which was way more than enough, and it will take forever to make enough change. Besides, with fine clothes and weapons like these, then it's enough for the price. Suddenly, the sound of someone sneaking got Naofumi's attention, as he whipped towards the door's entrance. Erhart, Raphtalia and Keel turned to Naofumi's direction, and then to the door, and promptly gasped._

"_Hehehehe… surprised to see me?"_

_It was the slave trader, the pompous mysterious man smiling so eerily that it made Raphtalia and Keel freeze. Erhart, angry that he entered inside without permission, jumped over the counter and pulled out the same wooden sword._

"_Beloukas! Didn't I ban you from entering inside my shop?!" Erhart growled at the man in front of him, while the newly dubbed Beloukas smirked._

"_My my, such rashness is unbecoming of a blacksmith who favours the Shield Hero like I do." The gentleman did not show any sort of fright, but rather he showed his usual cocky smile. "Don't worry, I have come for the Shield Hero and his new pets, not for you, Sir Erhart."_

"_Rrgh… well, as long as you don't ask me to make another set of red hot branding iron for you!" Erhart lowered his sword, then looked at Naofumi, figuring that they met before._

"_Anyway, I have come for you, my benefacting client. I have yet to give you some change for the purchases that you made, before you had to escape and all." Beloukas informed as he began to walk to Naofumi, but then the other end of Naofumi's stick was pointed at him._

"_Not yet. Unless you can tell me how you got inside here..." Naofumi narrowed his eyes, then pointed to a distinct corner of the shop. "...or maybe your friend can tell me!" Suddenly, the man lunged towards the corner, where a person veiled in shadow dashed out of the way of Naofumi's __**Assassin**__'s __hook sword, and disappeared into the streets after exiting the door. Raphtalia shrieked, and Keel and Erhart gasped at the emergence of the shadow, who now was away from Naofumi's grasp and stalked the streets back to the castle of Melromarc. "Tsk… could that shadow be working for the king…?" The man growled, his position, Teleport Stone, Raphtalia, Keel, Erhart and even his shop, now compromised, until Beloukas shook his head._

"_No no. It's alright, Sir Naofumi." The man waved his hand at the Shield Hero. "That shadow is on your side, as she works for the Queen. Explains how I even got inside in the first place. Kehehehe!" Beloukas explained, his demeanor never changing. The unease of that never changed, as even Naofumi didn't feel as satisfied from that answer._

'_Yikes… so the Queen's bodyguards can easily enter inside anybody's house.' Scary stuff indeed. _

_"So why are you here?" Naofumi demanded._

"_Why, I haven't gotten a chance to explain that yet!" Beloukas laughed, as he looked at Raphtalia and Keel, who backed away. "You should have their slave brands recommissioned. They are actually bound to me, but we haven't had a chance to have them bound to you yet. Initially the change is 40 silver, but if you want me to do the rebranding, then it will be 36 silver that I give back. We have a deal?" The man explained, making Raphtalia and Keel shiver. Naofumi actually gave it some thought himself, until he nodded, making Raphtalia and Keel white as sheets._

**.o0o.**

It was a pretty painful process, like taking two kids to the dentist or to take their vaccine shots. However, it blew over pretty quickly, which made Naofumi breathe a sigh of relief.

That still led to their training. The girls, plus Ake, were in for some serious training. While two of them were having their own regiments, like sword swings, jogs and basic training, one of them was having a one-on-one with Naofumi, using his various jobs.

**.o0o.**

"_Raphtalia, end this with one strike!" Naofumi ordered, grabbing an Orange Balloon that was gnawing helplessly on his side and holding it up in front of Raphtalia. Breathing in and out, she readied her sword and ran. However, her eyes were closed and she missed, aiming for the jaws instead. The Balloon clamped on the blade and repelled her back. "Raphtalia, do not close your eyes when you strike!"_

"_B-But…" She stuttered, her eyes and ears drooping down, indicating that she was scared._

"_Your mother and father again?" Naofumi knew he was right on the mark when her legs quivered. It was the same thing every night. She would be trapped in a nightmare, calling out to her mother and father. He didn't know the specifics, but by his guess, she was having a hard time dealing with their deaths._

"_U-Uh…Urk…!" The girl gritted her teeth, tightening her hold on the sword and resolved to try once more. Opening her eyes, she stabbed the balloon, this time, in its gut. The enemy popped, as both of them gained experience. Raphtalia felt even more tired than usual, but Naofumi caught her just as she was about to faint._

"_I got you." He whispered into her ear, as she drifted into slumber._

**.o0o.**

_The young knight kept blocking with his shield, desperately hiding behind his shielder that was deflecting the strikes of Naofumi's stick. Naofumi was dashing left and right, finding and striking at various openings on Ake's body using a __**Fencer**__'s rapier and style of battle._

**Naofumi Iwatani; Fencer Lv. 3**

**[Bane of Melromarc] _Notorious in Melromarc territory, 15% damage boost dealt all Melromarcians, 15% damage lost against all other citizens and monsters from other cities._**

**HP: 750**

**MP: 125**

**Attack: 25**

**Defense: 20**

**Speed: 38**

**STR: 24  
**

**VIT: 16**

**DEX: 22  
**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 15**

**LUK: 20**

"_Take this seriously, Ake!" Naofumi harshly snapped at the man, who only hid deeper. So Naofumi kicked the shield, causing the man to be knocked on his back._

"_Ack!" Landing in an inglorious thud, he rubbed his back and looked up. "I-I'm sorry, I'm still frightened by your sw-… stick skills. I would be afraid to be hit…" The young man only looked down sheepishly which made Naofumi sigh._

"_Ake, what did you expect when you were to be a knight?"_

"_E-Eh? What do you mean?" Ake looked up to Naofumi's genuine question._

"_Exactly that. What did they teach you in combat school?"_

"_U-Uh… well, I was the runt in the class, so they told me that defense was the best tactic. But I never found that helpful, since the instructors told me that it was a bad idea… So I guess… I just haven't found a combat style yet." Ake answered, which made Naofumi narrow his eyes. Clearly the academies of Melromarc need to be looked at._

"_Listen, hiding behind your shield isn't a bad idea, but it also isn't the best." Naofumi informed Ake, who listened carefully. "Sooner or later, they will find a way to pierce your defense or make you lower your guard, and then you'll be wide open. Be expected to take some pain, and take the offensive. Don't wait. Never wait." Naofumi let the words sink in, before taking a few paces back, and reading a stance. "Now, AGAIN!"_

**.o0o.**

"_Aw… but why do I have to keep practicing the basics?" Keel moaned out, pouting that she has to keep doing push-ups. Naofumi crossed his arms, looking at her._

"_Reason one, slave marker." Naofumi stated, which made Keel flinch for a bit, feeling phantom pain on her chest, before doing push-ups again. "Reason two, keep doing the basics and you'll be a master eventually." He smashed his fists together, feeling the raw power building up within his own fists, like a miniature explosion._

"_Eh… but it gets so boring…" She moaned out, before finished at forty pushups. She fell onto the grass for a few moments before climbing back up to her feet._

"_Keel. Let me ask you a question." Naofumi knelt down to Keel's level, looking at her in the eyes. "What do you fear more? A man who practices ten thousand kinds of kicks ten times per day? Or a man who practices ten kinds of kicks ten thousand times per day?"_

_She didn't make a sound, as if she was unable to process the information in the question. "U-Uh…" Her brain felt like it was short-circuiting, so Naofumi asked her a different question._

"_Okay, let me say it in terms you understand. What do you prefer? A man who can make 100 kinds of meat skewers that only tastes okay? Or a man who can make only one dish, which was your favourite kind of beef skewers, cooked to perfection?" Naofumi rephrased, which made Keel immediately click to the question._

"_Of course I prefer YOUR beef skewers, Naofumi!" Keel smiled at the visualization… and then it clicked. You needed practice to perfect beef skewers, just like how Naofumi does it… 'Just like the basics…'_

"_Just like the basics, Keel." Naofumi confirmed, and thus he helped her practice and improve her punching and kicking._

**.o0o.**

_"Go!"_

_"Yes!"_

_The girl charged forward, intent on catching her target, which was a porcupine. The creature gave out a cry of anger, before launching its spikes. "AHH!" The raccoon girl's eyes widened, before she had to duck and dodge the needles._

_"Raphtalia, focus!" Naofumi commanded, which was difficult for her. The girl had bad experiences with dealing with attackers, and this was no exception. The porcupine hissed before rolling into a ball and charging towards her. The girl only laid frozen on her knees, unable to get up, but still held her sword firm. She would have been a pincushion if Naofumi didn't slide in, his Shield covering her from the onslaught of rolling needles._

_"Urrgh!" The man felt the needles fly and impale his body painfully on his arms._

_"Ahh!" The raccoon girl felt a needle go into her arm, making her scream and flinch. Naofumi pushed the animal off, before pulling off some needles, as the creature ran away into the forest, but not before hissing towards the duo._

_"Tsk... Ran off..." The Shield Hero groaned, before turning to Raphtalia and helped her pull out the needle._

_"Master... I..." The girl looked completely guilty from the looks of it, close to crying. The price of failure or mistakes was always punishment, so the girl closed her eyes and awaited for the end. However, Naofumi only looked at her and swapped to another class, the final one of the four classes he acquired._

**Naofumi Iwatani; Cleric Lv. 4  
**

**[Bane of Melromarc] _Notorious in Melromarc territory, 15% damage boost dealt all Melromarcians, 15% damage lost against all other citizens and monsters from other cities._**

**HP: 675  
**

**MP: 625  
**

**Attack: 12  
**

**Defense: 15**

**Speed: 22**

**STR: 12  
**

**VIT: 18**

**DEX: 10  
**

**INT: 12  
**

**WIS: 50  
**

**LUK: 38  
**

_"Hold still." The Shield Hero muttered, before readying an incantation. "__**I pray for life's refreshing breeze, its immediate touch will revitalize one's precious life! Quickheal!**" A yellow light spiraled out of his hand, healing the wounds of Raphtalia and Naofumi. What felt like stinging pain was now numbing relaxation as the wounds closed instantly._

_"Master..." The raccoon girl shuddered in guilt and shame. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't-!"_

_"Enough moping, Raphtalia." Naofumi muttered to her, before standing up. "We aren't going to stop until we get that porcupine."_

_"H-Huh?" Raphtalia stood up with him, confused. Isn't he supposed to punish her?_

_"It at first you don't succeed, try try again."_

_The recitation Naofumi said to her made her widen her eyes. Those were the exact same words the Shield Hero said in his previous incarnations. She idolized the Shield Hero, much like any demi-human from her village she used to live in._

_"Come, we're getting that porcupine again. Ready?" His encouraging eyes were hard to say no to, as Raphtalia nodded hastily and walked with him towards the forest, intent on exacting her revenge._

**.o0o.**

"_**The destroyer of nature, heed my call, gather in my hands, and wreathe my enemies in your baptism! Flamethrower!"**_

_The fires lashed out in a steady stream, much like a weak flamethrower, towards Ake, who blocked it with his shield. Suddenly, he felt the grass shift, as the flamethrower stopped and Naofumi was nowhere to be seen. He then turned to block a strike from Naofumi's hook sword._

"_Good." Naofumi smirked, engaging in a war of force, as he attempted to push Ake, but the man had the upper hand as he used his leg to push against Naofumi's. That was enough to overpower the man for once as Ake pushed him backwards, making him stagger._

'_Now's my chance!' Ake cried out in his head, as he charged, sword in hand. But Naofumi wasn't done yet. Immediately swapping to __**Fencer**__, he held up his Fencer's Shield and blocked in the nick of time._

"_What?!" Ake gasped as Naofumi was fast enough to block in time, but he wasn't done yet. Rearing his sword again, he began to swipe at a lower anger, but Naofumi was ready._

"_**Shield Swipe!"**__ The man uppercutted his shield, knocking Ake's weapon and shield out of his hands and flinging him onto his butt once more. The stick near his neck again, he sighed._

"_Damn… I thought I had you…!" Ake gripped the grass underneath him, but Naofumi patted him on the shoulder._

"_I'm full of surprises. But I have to say, you've improved tremendously." Naofumi admitted, making Ake gasp and smile widely for his accomplishments. Offering his hand, he grabbed Ake's and brought him up, the momentum of the training never ceasing._

**.o0o.**

"_Show me, Keel."_

_The man crossed his arms, watching the fires in Keel's eyes erupt. She bounced about a few minutes ago, excited to show her progress. She was used to her gauntlets at this point, sometimes forgetting to take them off for meal times and bathing, to where Naofumi would think that the gauntlets somehow melded onto her hands._

_Morbid thoughts aside, she stretched, albeit a little too fast, and prepared to show what she was made of, starting with the small boulder in front of her. "Yes, master Naofumi!" Keel brightly saluted, then reared back, and punched. The result…_

"_Ow…!"_

_...the boulder didn't budge, and Keel recoiled her fist._

"_That hurt… Why didn't it work the second time?" Keel wondered, nursing her fist. Naofumi thought it was a good time to help._

"_Keel. What do you remember from the first time you did it?" Naofumi asked, wanting her to retrace her steps. Keel began to think and recall what happened._

"_Well… I remember punching the rock and it broke off." Keel recalled, but Naofumi wanted more._

"_Anything else? What exactly were you thinking about when you punched the rock?"_

"_... I don't remember… Or rather… I think I had nothing to remember when I punched." Keel added._

"_Then do just that. Take a deep breath, focus and punch."_

"_Okay…" Keel took a deep breath, her demeanor changing heavily from excited to calm. Now tightening her fist, she reeled back and smashed the boulder, causing it to crack in half. "I did it! I did it! Master Naofumi, did you see?!" She cheered, as she looked at Naofumi excited, making the man smile, as he pet the little girl on the head. _

**.o0o.**

"_There!" Naofumi saw the rare golden bunny trying to hop away into the forest. However, he, and his group were not going to let it get away, despite Naofumi only overseeing what his group will do to kill it._

_Ake ran forward and used __**Taunt**__, which grabbed the rabbit's attention. When it snarled and dashed towards Ake, intent to use its two feet for kicking, Keel jumped into the fray and gave the bunny's head a direct hit with her fist to the ground. The Taunt still in effect, the bunny ran towards Ake again, hopping over Keel again, and kicked Ake's shield._

"_Grrh!" Ake held strong as the rabbit kept furiously kicking him with surprising strength. Readying his sword, he saw an opening when the rabbit hit its head on the shield and dazed itself. At that point, he slashed the rabbit's belly, giving it a shallow cut as it fell to the floor._

"_Now, Raphtalia!" Naofumi commanded, as a shadow jumped out of the trees and stabbed its sword through the rabbit, ending its life immediately. Blood seeped onto the grass, as its face slagged onto the floor, all life leaving its body._

"_Alright!" The racoon girl grabbed the carcass, looting its materials like a prime animal pelt and a gold bar, for some reason, while the others gathered around Naofumi._

**A new title has been earned!**

**[Golden Rabbit Slayer]**

_**There isn't a single reason to let them live!**_

**(40% damage to all rabbits, rodents and hares. 40% increased rarity from drops of all rabbits, rodents and hares.)**

"_How did we do, Naofumi?" Ake asked, looking at Naofumi who was pondering how they did. After Raphtalia walked back with a sack of materials, the master began his debriefing._

"_Well done…" Naofumi began, making the three smile. "...but it could be better." He continued, making their smiles disappear. "Ake, more sturdiness. Keel, need greater strength. Raphtalia, more speed. Enjoy the EXP of that rare enemy, because we'll not stop with training."_

"_YES, MASTER/SIR!"_

**.o0o.**

Now, they were ready to take on the Abandoned Mines of Lute Village. After the wave struck this area, the mines became more dangerous, and mining became a pipe dream in terms of making a living. That would mean that something dangerous lives there, and Naofumi and his party is raring to go.

Naofumi stood at the entrance, his usual stock of equipment and potions were ready, plus items used for spelunking were ready. Opening his HUD one last time, he checked on all of his stats of himself and his party members.

**Naofumi Iwatani; Shield Hero Lv. 5**

**[Bane of Melromarc] Notorious in Melromarc territory, 15% damage boost dealt all Melromarcian citizens and pets, 15% damage reduction against all other citizens and monsters from other cities.**

_**The dark within the heart of Melromarc!**_

**HP: 3000**

**MP: 1000  
**

**SP: 2000  
**

**Attack: 2**

**Defense: 300**

**Speed: 120**

**STR: 75  
**

**VIT: 150  
**

**DEX: 60  
**

**INT: 50**

**WIS: 100**

**LUK: 120**

The man groaned. He wished his Shield Hero would level up regularly, but it required jobs to level it up. At least the stats were amazing, so it mitigates itself there.

**Ake Rolfe; Knight Lv. 12**

**[The Meat Shield] Chance to block with shield increased by 20%. Reducing damage by 5%.**

_**Beating the meat, only makes it tastier!**_

**HP: 1300**

**MP: 600  
**

**Attack: 38  
**

**Defense: 50**

**Speed: 35**

**STR: 70  
**

**VIT: 95  
**

**DEX: 55  
**

**INT: 45  
**

**WIS: 55  
**

**LUK: 40  
**

**Raphtalia; Swordmaiden Lv. 11**

**[Slave Worker] Damage dealt increased to 10% when in master's proximity.**

_**The more you praise me, the more I fight for you!**_

**HP: 900**

**MP: 550**

**Attack: 44**

**Defense: 30**

**Speed: 40**

**STR: 64  
**

**VIT: 60  
**

**DEX: 60  
**

**INT: 51  
**

**WIS: 56**

**LUK: 54**

**Keel; Pugilist Lv. 11**

**[Slave Worker] Damage dealt increased to 10% when in master's proximity.**

_**The more you praise me, the more I fight for you!**_

**HP: 875  
**

**MP: 500  
**

**Attack: 43  
**

**Defense: 28**

**Speed: 45**

**STR: 63  
**

**VIT: 58  
**

**DEX: 67  
**

**INT: 50  
**

**WIS: 58  
**

**LUK: 58  
**

"Ready?" He called out to his approaching party members, who had their own stuff ready.

"Ready!" Keel cheered, as she walked beside Raphtalia. Ake smiled and nodded as well, and soon, they all stepped inside the mines.

* * *

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****


	7. Chapter 7: Nightmares Return

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****

**I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

The steps of the Shield Hero and his companions echoed in the dark abyss of the caverns. The only sources of light were both the light coming from Naofumi's 'stick' lit as a torch, and the green crystals dimly lighting up the area.

"Wow… so these are the magic crystals of Melromarc…" Ake looked at the crystals, the mesmerizing glow nearly made him stumble on his feet.

"Don't get too distracted. These crystals are known to combust when not handled correctly." Naofumi informed Ake, who gasped and stepped back. Keel also stepped away from the crystals, as she has been touching them needlessly.

"R-Really? I-I didn't know that these crystals are that unstable…!" He sputtered, but Naofumi gave a small snort from his befuddlement.

"I'm kidding. These green crystals are safe." Naofumi gave a small smile, as he turned back to the front and continued walking. Ake breathed a sigh of relief from that fact.

"Oh thank God…" He put his hands on his knees as he calmed down… until he realized what Naofumi said. "W-Wait, did you just say a joke?!"

That sort of light-heartedness made the girls laugh a little at Ake's shocked face. Even Naofumi gave a small snicker, which made Ake's jaw drop even more. It certainly passed the time, as they reached a bluish green cavern, which was their destination. It was illuminated by the sunlight from the holes above the ceiling, along with the pond and waterfall reflecting the light.

"Wow… so beautiful here…" Raphtalia gazed in awe in the room, seeing the crystals illuminate like miniature rainbows. Keel thought the same thing, but she was more drawn to the crystals. Her eyes lit up at the shininess of the crystals.

"It's so shiny..." The wolf girl muttered, mesmerized by its glimmer and sheen.

Naofumi only put his hand on his head, adding another thing to teach on the list. "Guess I need to teach her restraint…" Naofumi mumbled to himself.

"Huh? Did you say something, Naofumi?" Ake asked, readying the pickaxes.

"No. Nothing at all." The Shield Hero replied, with Keel bouncing about and Raphtalia observing the crystals.

"Master Naofumi! Master Naofumiii! Can I help you mine the crystals?" Keel asked excitedly, picking up and holding a pickaxe the wrong way.

"Sure, but first… hold it properly." Naofumi turned the pickaxe and had her hold it with two hands on the handle and the pick facing forward. "Now, don't hit the crystals themselves. Hit around the crystals instead, so they can be lodged out." The Shield Hero instructed, as he reeled back and slammed the pick onto the rock, breaking it significantly. _'Now that I think about it, it can help in terms of strength training…'_ Naofumi thought to himself, and called Raphtalia in order to help her learn how to mine.

The next ten minutes resulted in their more-than-fair share of crystals bundled up. It took a few tries with Ake, and numerous tries with Raphtalia and Keel, but they, along with Naofumi, successfully managed to grab some good chunks as well. While Keel was drooling over the jewels, their shininess sparkled in her eyes, and it made her happy. Ake and Raphtalia began to bundle up their equipment while Naofumi waited on them.

"Master?" Raphtalia asked, catching Naofumi's attention.

"Yes, Raphtalia?"

"Why are the crystals green here?" She asked, admiring the look of the light green crystal.

Naofumi thought it was odd for her to ask, but he shrugged and began to answer. "Well, it's because they drink up the mana in the region, and produce green mana, which symbolizes Melromarc's region made up of mostly grasslands and windy plains."

"Really?" Raphtalia looked at the crystal. It reminded her of Melromarc's green grass.

"Wow… now that you mention it, I only remember seeing blue and green crystals, but are there other colours too?" Ake asked, smiling from knowing this new fun fact.

"Yeah. Green's from Melromarc. Blue is probably from the sea towns nearby. Red would be in a volcano. Orange would be mountainous. Black would be darkness or machinery. Yellow would be from the desert or cliffs. Etcetera, etcetera. Basic science stuff." Naofumi finished explaining, with the two of them feeling like they have just been enlightened. As the three of them packed up, however, Naofumi began to experiment with his Shield once more. The green crystal he fished out of the mining node, perfect quality and all, looked to be perfect to use as his new Shield. Probing it into the gem, it was absorbed and changed shape into a green crystalized Shield in the shape of a diamond, with green ore jutting outward.

_**Wind Crystal Shield**_**(NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)**

**+30 Defense, +5 STR, +15 VIT, DEX and WIS**

**PASSIVE: Wind Ward 3 (Wind Elemental attacks and spells directed to you are reduced by 35%)**

**_Air Strike Shield_****Instantly creates a shield made of air, out of thin air, for defense anywhere within range.**

The bread and butter Shield ability, Naofumi noted. It took a while, but he got it. The ability was very versatile when he used it during the years prior, so it was going to be fun using it whenever he wanted. With his stuff packed up, he turned around to Keel. "Hey, Keel, are you ready to- Huh?"

Where did Keel go?

**.o0o.**

"Shinyyy…" Keel drawled out in a happy little trance, as she kept walking, holding the most refined ore of emerald green crystal. It was radiating with wind and nature energies, much like a natural night light. It apparently hypnotized her as she was walking deeper into the mines unconsciously, like a dazed sleep-walker. It was only when she reached a dark corner of the larger room in the mine shaft, was when she hit a wall. "Ouch!" The girl muttered, snapping out of her daze. Looking around, Keel suddenly realized that she didn't know where she was. Starting to panic a little, she then spotted a light coming from a part of a cavern, but before she could book it, she heard a snarl.

Two snarls in fact. Because in front of her, her eyes widened at the sight. Its body was as big as a horse, its two pairs of eyes glowed as the two head growled and grinned at the girl, like a tasty snack walking into the hornet's nest.

"A-Ahh…!" Keel began to back away, her eyes dilating in fear. Repressed memories began to come alive as the sight of the creature began to walk towards her.

'_AIIIIIIIEEEEE!'_

'_NO STAY AWAY!'_

'_KIDS, GET BEHIND US!'_

'_RUN! KEEL, RAPHTALIA, RUNNN!'_

'_**ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!'**_

The memories were screaming back at her, image of her parents and Raphtalia's parents being eaten by the shadow of a giant three-headed dog. Her body fell onto the floor, bum first, as she was reliving those moments in her head. Part of her wanted to run away screaming, but the fear in his gullet nerves was clogging it up, preventing her from screaming or running away. The predator then licked both its slobbering lips, as it opened both of its maws and dove into its meal.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

A green shield appeared in front of the paralyzed Keel, making the creature hit both of its heads on the energy shield. Then a green-cloaked man dashed in, slashing at the face with his 'rapier', making the creature stumble back.

'_Great… an orthrus…!'_Naofumi gritted his teeth, as he turned around, seeing Keel looking up at him, with great fear in her eyes. Raphtalia and Ake ran inside, both of them were stunned to see a two-headed dog nearly feasting on Keel, only to be blocked by Naofumi. "Keel, are you okay?" Naofumi asked, concern for the girl being his first priority.

"M-Master Naofumi…" She only stuttered, before he turned around, meeting the eyes of the orthrus, who roared and charged at Naofumi.

"Naofumi!" Ake shouted, as he used a **Shield Lob**, lobbing his shield and hitting the dog in one of its faces, stunning it. Naofumi changed to **Fencer**, and dashed towards the dog, slashing its head off cleaning. Blood spurted out as the head was cleanly shaved off, the orthrus backing off in pain as it howled and thrashed backwards. Ake then charged towards the orthrus, with the beast retaliating with its jaws open for a big bite, but he was ready. Slamming his shield on the dog's face, he dazed it long enough to stab its other neck and pull out, dealing enough damage to make the dog back away and flop onto the ground, dead.

"Whew… close one…" Naofumi sighed, before looking at Keel, who was feeling a lot better, but Raphtalia, on the other hand, was crying and looking like a bigger mess than Keel. "Raphtalia?" Naofumi addressed, now worried that perhaps she was going through some heavy trauma.

"M-Mom… dad…" She stuttered, her breathing becoming even more heavy, her eyes dilating in fear, as she held her hands out, reaching to her parents who aren't really there. The images of a three-headed dog eating up her parents were still fresh in her mind, as they almost came alive in her head. However, she was snapped out of her nightmare, when Naofumi held her struggling hands and hugged her close.

"It's alright… it's over… they won't hurt you anymore…" Naofumi whispered in her ears, making her calm down, the tension leaving her body. Letting out her tears, she cried into his shoulder, and the Shield Hero let her do that. _'Poor girl... she must've gotten the brunt of the attack on whatever village it was she grew up in...' _Naofumi thought to himself, looking at the frightened girl. Ake sighed in relief, as Keel walked up slowly to Raphtalia and hugged her too.

"Keel…? Are you…?" Raphtalia whispered, but Keel smiled as best as she can, giving support to the girl as the wolf girl patted the raccoon's back, like she always has.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We got Master Naofumi here, after all!" Keel joked, as the two girls giggled. Forgetting about their own suffering, they looked at Naofumi, who smiled and was thankful that their episode is gone for now. However, that was only the least of their problems now.

"**ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"**

The roar made the four of them freeze, as rushing footsteps were heard. They were definitely louder than a human's, likely to be a beast as well. Suddenly, a portion of the wall broke as in comes a three-headed dog, bigger than a van, looking even more ferocious than the orthrus. The destruction of the wall caused the entire shaft to quake, with some rocks falling. Even their own exit was blocked by a pile of rocks. Naofumi cursed his luck at the sight of the new monster.

It was a cerberus.

"W-What the…" Ake stammered at the sight, as the two girls hugged each other, clearly frozen from the sight of their living nightmares becoming real at the sight of the First Wave's former boss.

"How the hell was this thing inside the mines in the first place?" Naofumi readied his shield, when the cerberus growled and slowly walked towards the party, clearly not letting its prey get away.

"I-I don't get it…! Didn't the knights get rid of the cerberus during the First Wave?!" Ake stuttered, as he hid behind his shield.

"You mean Melromarc didn't finish off the First Wave's boss?!" Naofumi yelled, angry that Melromarc had something to do with this. The nerve! However, he didn't have time to think. The cerberus reeled its head and blasted out a thunderbreath, nearly engulfing the entire party, if not for Naofumi.

"**Reflect!**"

Making the breath bounce off, it shocked the cerberus with its own breath, as it reeled backwards with static. The breath must have been powerful, as it knocked a good chunk of HP. Knowing that it shouldn't do that again, the cerberus shook off the static and charged with its own body.

"Look out!" Naofumi cried out, grabbing the kids and rolling out of there. Ake dodged too, but towards the other side. The giant dog crashed onto the sturdy wall, where it kept its focus onto Naofumi and turned its body around.

"Made it…" Ake picked himself up, and looked at the cerberus's rear, ducking underneath the swinging tail. "Damn, that tail is really dangerous." He took his sword and swung at the tail every chance it got, hoping it would get the dog's attention. However, its hate was too great, as it eyed the girls and Naofumi.

"Cmon, Raphtalia, Keel, snap out of it!" Naofumi continuously blocked claw swipes and heads trying to devour the kids and him. "Dammit, wake up!"

The girls still shook in fear, their own instincts, unable to even lift a finger. "I-I can't…!" Raphtalia shivered, the sight bringing horrid memories again. She looked down unable to face the cerberus.

"N-Nao...fumi…!" Keel also stammered in fear, but she wasn't doing worse compared to Raphtalia. She put herself in front of the raccoon girl, hoping that she could defend the girl, but she cannot put up a fight.

Naofumi gritted his teeth, as all three heads lunged towards Naofumi, with him blocking with his shield as much as he could. "You gotta attack it! Stab it with your sword! Punch it in the face! Do something! Now!" Naofumi kept using his words, hoping that would make them come out of their trauma. Their slave markers began to react for the first time in a long while, as they zapped both girls painfully, snapping them out of their trance. But their fear remained, as they plopped onto the floor unable to move or attack.

"Please, no!" Raphtalia cried out, her fingers trembling around her body.

"Gyaaugh!" Keel shouted out, terrified and looking away in cold fear. Despite the slave seals, their fear held them back tremendously.

However, the beast suddenly reared back. Howling in pain, it was revealed that Ake, from behind, got a clean swipe on one of its legs and one on its tail, blood spurting out from its cuts. "Now, Naofumi!" Ake cried out. The man changed to **Fencer,** and leaped right up to the head, intent to get a clean hit on it. The girls even looked at Naofumi, jumping up almost heroically, about to slice off one of the heads. For one moment, their fear was forgotten, until…

The dog's head leaned to the left, a tad too far for Naofumi to even reach with his short blade. With that, he left himself wide open. _'N-No…!'_ He cried out in his mind, as he saw the jaws of the beast open up and-!

_**CRUNCH!**_

"GAAAUGH!" Naofumi cried out in pain, the first time he has felt some so severe in so long. The cerberus has gotten his legs and midsection trapped in its sharp jaws.

"Naofumi!" Ake screamed in horror. Quickly grabbing his sword, he attempted to slash the leg, only for the tail to smack him against the wall, rendering him unconscious. The two girls screamed at the sight of Naofumi's legs nearly eaten up.

"Gaahhh! This hurts!" Naofumi gritted his teeth, fighting through the pain, as he was suffering near lethal damage since he wasn't in **Shield Hero**, but in **Fencer.** Just barely enough defense to survive a bite from a cerberus, but the other head began to open its jaws over top of his head. Quickly switching back to **Shield Hero**, he felt the bottom jawline pierce his back, but he held onto the top jaw long enough to look at Raphtalia and Keel. The pain was great, still searing on his lower body and back, but he couldn't let this beast devour the kids. "Dammit! Raphtalia, Keel! Get out of here, quick!" He called to them, not wanting the cerberus to get to them, while wincing heavily in pain. _'What the…?! Why does it still hurt so much?! I'm in Shield Hero, dammit!'_ Naofumi's thoughts screamed in his mind, as his eyes were still locked onto Raphtalia and Keel, close to hyperventilating from the orders he gave out.

"W-What…?!" Raphtalia breathed out, with Keel widening her eyes.

"B-But what about you?" Keel shouted out, her legs shaking still.

"If you can't fight, then you gotta get out of here!" Naofumi held the jaws of the beast that was over the upper half of the body open, but the searing pain was making him lose consciousness and strength. "I-I'll buy you time! Hurry!" He struggled to say as his arms began to feel limp.

"No…! Then…! You'll end up, just like them! Master!" Raphtalia cried out in sadness, tears flowing from her eyes. Keel gritted her teeth, trying to fight the fear. Images of their parents, sadly looking at them, defending them to their last breath against the very thing that killed them. More of them appeared in their memories, from buying the ball, trying new clothes, eating delicious food for the first time, helping them escape from their captors who would see them suffer for their amusement… "No…! Don't go…!" Both of them whimpered, as the image of their smiling parents and friends disappeared into the darkness, along with Ake, Erhart… and Naofumi.

Naofumi didn't have any more time, as his focus and the strength on his arms were beginning to fade. Despite his strength, he can't hold it up anymore and was about to accept his fate. Suddenly, he heard two battle cries on his left, snapping him out of his fading consciousness. A sword stabbed right through the left head, the one that was going to chomp on Naofumi's face, as the blade cleanly went into its head. Blood splattered out of the fatal wound, as one of the heads' brains got skewered, and the beast howled at the immense pain it was feeling from the loss of its left head's function, to the point of letting Naofumi out of its jaws. He plopped onto the floor unceremoniously, breathing heavily as he looked up, and smiled.

It was Raphtalia, finally overcoming her fears.

Suddenly, a shadow of blue roared, as she jumped and smashed her fist with such overwhelming strength on the right head's face, that it dug into its brain and crushed it into a gray paste. The cerberus didn't even have a chance to howl in pain, as the right head limply hung on the side. Now the center head remained as it looked angry towards Raphtalia and Keel.

Raphtalia and Keel jumped off, landing in opposite sides of the mineshaft on their feet. The center head looked left and right, but then looked at the center, decided it will take the easy meal first. Seeing the beast beginning to rear its head once more for an electric breath, Naofumi narrowed his eyes. "Dumb… dog…!" He struggled to insult as he aimed his shield at the cerberus. "**Reflect!**" The purple electric breath bounced back, zapping the dog once more, stunning it close to unconsciousness. "It's wide open! You two, take it down!" Naofumi yelled, with the two girls charging towards the writhing cerberus on its last legs.

Keel jumped high in the air and aimed its fist, while Raphtalia readied her sword into a stabbing motion, and finally, they connect.

_**SMASH! SLASH!**_

The dog's head was caved in by the punch on its head, while its neck was sliced cleanly. The beast's head smashed into the ground, while the body went limp, landing with a thud. The two girls landed on the ground too, their breaths laboured, finally conquering their fears.

"Heh… heh… Good… job..." A soft compliment was heard, as the girls turned to their master, whose legs were beaten up badly. Their eyes welling up with tears, the girls hugged their master tightly, crying out loudly.

"Master Naofumi!" Both of them cried out, hugging and wailing as their master patted the two on their backs.

"It's alright… I'm glad you were able to overcome that boss…" Naofumi said, grunting in pain. The two girls kept crying, weeping that they were happy that he was alright.

"Master Naofumiiiii…!" Raphtalia cried out, in-between sniffles. "Don't die please! Don't leave me again!"

"I'm sorry, Master Naofumiiiiii…!" Keel cried out the same way, her tears garbling her speech. "I'm sorry that I left you! Please don't be mad at meeee...!"

Naofumi only stayed silent, patting the two of them until their tears were dried up. "Well, then you know what you have to do. Get stronger, be my sword and fist, and then we won't die. Got it?" Naofumi instructed, his tone softened as he kept patting the two girls.

"Yes…" They both mumbled.

"Good, now get me my stick…"

**.o0o.**

"Sorry, Naofumi… if only I saw the tail coming…!" Ake apologized, which was giving Naofumi a headache.

"That's the third time. Don't worry about it, as long as you know for the future." Naofumi rolled his eyes, as he limped towards the exit. "You guys can give me some backpacks or equipment, if you need to-."

"NO!" The two girls snapped at him. Raphtalia and Keel pouted as they shook their heads at the offer. "Not when you're like this, Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia scolded him.

"Only when you stop limping, is when you can get it back!" Keel scolded him too.

"Oh. Don't worry!" Naofumi smiled, as he stood on both of his legs… and then promptly fell over in pain from his leg. "Okay, you win." His defeated voice made the girls giggle, as they promptly walked out, with a sheepish Ake. Smiling from their own triumphs, Naofumi smiled as he followed them outside into the sunlight.

**.o0o.**

From within the distance of the cavern, a figure in the shadow smiled. The man has seen everything, from when the Shield Hero and his entourage entered inside, to the defeat of his pet. Now that he has seen everything, the man simply walked out, after seeing Naofumi harvest parts from the cerberus.

"My my, that was unimpressive, Naofumi... Compared to the last we have met, you surely have gotten a lot more weaker." The figure chastised, before smiling wide, and disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****


	8. Chapter 8: The Second Wave

******THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!******

**I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_The Waves of Calamity have been, what many consider, tragedy incarnate. Ever since its inception from the times of the Ancients, the world has suffered these calamities time and time again throughout centuries. While many have studied these calamities, whether close up or far away, everybody has come to the same conclusion: the origin is a mystery. Time and time again, our research turns up fruitless within these endeavors... until today._

_The Shield Hero, despite his efforts on literally destroying our beautiful kingdom, killing our soldiers and committing regicide towards the past XXVIIIth Queen of Melromarc, has provided new insight. Our new queen did not want to believe it, but it was the truth. Before her supporters and the Spear Hero could clean up the quarters of the Tyrantress, the proof was still there: she wanted the Waves to happen, through the use of her black magicks._

_\- Destroyed Research notes of the Melromarcian Research Facility, burned up by the runaway supporters of the deceased Tyrantress_

* * *

**20 hours left...**

"So you're telling me that the missing boss of the First Wave was inside that old abandoned mineshaft? A literal cerberus?"

"I don't kid around with this stuff. If I didn't have my healing magic and potions, my party members and whatnot, my career as a hero would have been dead in the water."

Erhart just gaped at the Shield Hero leaning on the counter, then the bald blacksmith just sighed as he rubbed his temples. After the fight to the death against a literal three-headed hellhound, the party decided that the next three days were when they could take their training a little more easier, get more equipment, sell their wind crystal accessories, repair and, overall, unwind a little. Their equipment definitely took a hit from the fight, plus they got huge experience, loot and money from the battle. Yet the takeaway they got was rather unnerving, so Naofumi couldn't have them fight anything that dangerous again until the Wave of Calamity starts.

"Oh man… you can be a magnet for trouble." Erhart simply stated the truth, with Naofumi shrugging at those words. He wasn't wrong.

"At least we got some crystals, right? Those are bound to make some good accessories and crafting materials, and some killer dosh." Naofumi replied, thinking that the experience inside was worth it. In his hand, he was holding his handfuls of green crystal accessories like necklaces and rings, along with a surplus stock of refined green crystals and raw ore inside his inventory. Despite selling a lot, he still had a lot more. His shield even absorbed some of the boss's materials, making them stronger.

_**Cerberus Shield**_** (NEW SKILL UNLOCKED)  
**

**+65 Defense, +25 VIT, INT and LUK**

**Mindful 10 (+50% Spell Resistance)**

**PASSIVE: Stoneskin 8 (+40% Bleed Resistance)**

**PASSIVE: Sharp Steel 3 (Reflects 30% of contact moves back at the user)**

_**Doublecast  
**_**Able to cast two of the same spells in succession.**_**  
**_

_**Triplecast  
**_**Able to cast three of the same spells in succession.**_**  
**_

With the boss shield providing their own benefits, from giving him bleeding resistance, reflecting contact attacks, and even providing the inherent **Doublecast **and **Triplecast** abilities (his magic attacks are gonna hurt), he and his party will be unstoppable. "Plus, these trinkets were making a killing in the Lute markets. We already got back twenty gold coins already, so more money can't hurt."

"Well, why not start a merchanting trade? Potions, armour and accessories are all the rage these days, especially with the Wave coming up." Erhart asked, but he looked confused when Naofumi had a twinkle in his eyes. Suddenly a flash of light engulfed Naofumi in a split second, making Erhart look at Naofumi in shock. The Shield Hero's appearance didn't change, but in his hands were two flasks holding brews. Using his new job point that he got from partying with Keel, he began his demonstration.

"You don't think I haven't thought of that yet?" Naofumi asked back, smirking as he poured one brew into another, as it bubbled and mellowed into a clear blue liquid. Then quickly, he poured them into five thin vials. All of this happened in the span of 15 seconds.

"W-Wow… wait, are those **Revivifies**?" Erhart wasn't as impressed to Naofumi's quick brewing speeds compared to what he made. The super rare tonics that could raise people back from the brink of death were incredibly popular in the markets for just how useful they are. To see Naofumi make them so effortlessly… well, at this point, he shouldn't be surprised.

**Naofumi Iwatani; Alchemist Lv 24**

**[Master Beast Slayer] Damage to all beasts increased by 30%. All damage from beasts lowered by 30%.**

_**Some call it lunacy. You instead define it as beastly.**_

**HP: 2200**

**MP: 1000  
**

**Attack: 80  
**

**Defense: 50**

**Speed: 100**

**STR: 70  
**

**VIT: 69  
**

**DEX: 75  
**

**INT: 100  
**

**WIS: 102  
**

**LUK: 105**

"Yes they are. I'm sure you can make use of them, Erhart." Naofumi replied, giving them to a surprised Erhart.

"W-Whoa! Y-You sure?

"Yep. Think of them as a gift… for trusting us in Melromarc, when on one else would."

"...Gee." Erhart had the right to blush and look flattered from Naofumi's words. He was at a loss for words at the gift, before both of them heard the changerooms open.

"Besides, the new clothes, weapons and armour are more than enough for us to know how much you appreciate us, so let us give back in return, hence the Revivifies." Naofumi declared, leaving no room for argument, as he turned towards his two newly dressed party members. "Well? How is it?"

"I love it!" Raphtalia praised, reveling in her new height and attire. Now that her level has risen considerably, her body height and size as grown accordingly to a height of a young woman, despite being only 10 years old. Her signature red and black, but now there were accoutrements of leather bracing around as well, along with a white linen undershirt underneath and brown leather boots that reached to her knees. Light bronze armour also decorated her shoulders, arms and feet as well, making her into quite a formidable swordmaiden.

**Raphtalia; Swordmaiden Lv. 25**

**[Cerberus Slayer] Occasionally cause bleeding to the opponent.  
**

_**Do I have something in my teeth?  
**_

**HP: 2000  
**

**MP: 1200  
**

**Attack: 180  
**

**Defense: 150**

**Speed: 160**

**STR: 135  
**

**VIT: 130  
**

**DEX: 128  
**

**INT: 115  
**

**WIS: 112  
**

**LUK: 126**

"Yeah! Thanks, Mr. Erhart!" Keel added, quite happy with her upgraded attire. Just like Raphtalia, Keel also has grown up in height, size and maturity, blossoming into a fine young woman as well. While not as heavy on the assets as Raphtalia, Keel had more of an athletic swimmer's bod; slim and muscular. It was accentuated by her new light blue short-sleeve temple qipao with steel accoutrements and buckles, only reaching down to mid-thigh level, along with a loincloth in the centre. Her light iron gauntlets and greaves now covered more of her forearms and shins respectively, while a shoulderguard was attached to her right shoulder. To top it all off, a golden headband was wrapped around her forehead, and a plum feather holding her hair into a bun. To everyone, she looked like a real martial artist.

**Keel; Pugilist Lv. 25**

**[Cerberus Slayer] ****Occasionally cause bleeding to the opponent.**

_**Do I have something in my teeth?**_

**HP: 1975  
**

**MP: 1125  
**

**Attack: 175**

**Defense: 142**

**Speed: 180**

**STR: 133  
**

**VIT: 126  
**

**DEX: 145  
**

**INT: 113  
**

**WIS: 120  
**

**LUK: 126**

"Great. I'm glad you both like it. You're both very pretty in them." Naofumi smiled at their enthusiasm. The two ladies smiled broadly before Keel got a little mischievous and hugged his right arm.

"Oh~? Pretty, you say~?" Kewl smirked, leaning her head on the arm of Naofumi, who only raised his eyebrows. The man in question nearly yelped at the surprise contact and puppy-eyed look from Keel. Raphtalia gasped in shock before she glared at Keep angrily.

"Keeeeel! No fair!" Raphtalia hissed at the wolfgirl, who only stuck out her tongue at the raccoon. Naofumi was at first glad that Raphtalia respected his personal space, but then suddenly, she grabbed his other arm and hugged it, causing him to gasp and blush. "You said I would get the right arm this time…!" She bemoaned, which made Keel snicker.

"Too slow, Raphie~. Maybe when you get… mmm, I dunno~, faster~?" Keel teased as the two of them glared at each other so intensely, Naofumi swore he saw lightning clashing between them.

'_Can't blame them for being so clingy to me, even after the mine shaft.'_ Naofumi thought, as the girls tightened their grip on his arms. It felt like both of them were becoming numb. _'But why fight over me? I...'_

"Ahem… when you're done fighting over your master," Erhart interrupted their quality time, "I need to borrow him for some outfitting on some new armour." Naofumi silently thanked the blacksmith for his words. The two of them pouted before letting go, already missing his warmth and presence. Suddenly, the bald man got a big cheeky smile on his face. "Buuuuuuut, when I'm done with him, you can hug him as much as you want! Hahaha!" He finished, in a jolly way, as Naofumi dropped his jaw. The audacity of the man! Naofumi swears that bald man acts more like a father than a blacksmith!

The Shield Hero was then brought inside the blacksmithing chamber, missing the twinkling eyes of his slaves. After a minute, the two of them came back, with Keel and Raphtalia gasping at the sight of Naofumi's new armour. It was crafted with dense steel, and the shine on the plates was superb. Fur lined up around the neck of Naofumi. Despite all of the dark plates of armour, it was surprisingly light to handle. What stood out for this armor were two light green glowing crystals at both sides of his chest area, lighting up like eyes. More green crystals adorned his abdomen area, dressed in the shape of a demon's maw.

"I call it the **Wind Demon's Armour**! It looks great on ya, Naofumi!" Erhart smirked. "This is my proudest work yet! Those crystals really helped out!"

_**Wind Demon's Armour**_ **(Perfect Quality)**

**+250 Defense, +25 STR, VIT and DEX**

**PASSIVE: Wind Ward 12 (+75% Wind Resistance)**

**PASSIVE: Arm's Length (No knock back on any abilities that causes displacement.)**

"Woooow…" Keel could only say, before shaking her head. No way was she going to be distracted with shiny objects again.

"It looks so intimidating…!" Raphtalia commented, inspecting it with such awe, that she couldn't look away.

"Yep! Now you're all prepared for the Wave!" Erhart smiled at that, as Naofumi nodded. Keel and Raphtalia nodded too, determined to do this.

"Only 20 more hours. You two ready for tomorrow?" Naofumi looked at them both, and they nodded in return. "Good. Let's return back. Ake should be finishing up on evacuation preparations with the people of Lute village." He's grown to like the citizenry, to the point of loving their community.

"Be careful out there." Erhart waved his goodbyes, as the trio teleported out of there. Stretching his back, he began to clean up and take a shower. "Man, gotta say, Naofumi. You scored two lucky ladies! Hehehe!"

**.o0o.**

**14 hours left...**

"Everybody's ready to be evacuated?"

"Yep!"

"Even the children?"

"Yep!"

"Good. I could always rely on you, Ake."

"T-Thanks, Naofumi." Ake scratched his head from the praise. To hear that from the Shield Hero felt invigorating.

**Ake Rolfe; Knight Lv. 25**

**[Heart of the Party] 5% damage boost and reduction against all sources per party member nearby.**

_**We go together!**_

**HP: 2600**

**MP: 1200  
**

**Attack: 80  
**

**Defense: 110**

**Speed: 75**

**STR: 145  
**

**VIT: 195  
**

**DEX: 115  
**

**INT: 90  
**

**WIS: 120  
**

**LUK: 85**

"It's good that these people are prepared for anything."

"Yeah, but I just know the Wave will be nearby tomorrow."

"Really?" Ake asked, a little surprised that a hero knows where the Wave is going to spawn. "How do you know?"

All he got was Naofumi glaring at the window to his left. When Ake followed his gaze, all he saw was the cliffs west of Lute, away from the mineshaft. Ake didn't know what was up with Naofumi and that cliff, but the last thing that the Shield Hero said to the knight almost gave him chills.

"I just do, Ake. I just do."

**.o0o.**

**9 hours until the Wave**

"_Please save us!_

"_**Hold on! Stop running and let me help you!"**_

"_Shield Hero! We need you!"_

"_**B-But the monsters…!"**_

"_My baby! Why aren't you protecting my baby?"_

"_**I'm sorry, but I…!"**_

"_How could you let this happen, Hero?! I thought you were a Hero!"_

"_**No! Stop! Please!"**_

"_You MONSTER!"_

"_**No, I did the best I could! I…!"**_

"_You COWARD!"_

"_**No...! No!"**_

"_You __**failed**__."_

"_**NOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Naofumi opened his eyes and screamed… and only saw the darkness of the night around him. His breathing was laboured, his skin shook with goosebumps, his eyes dilating… until he felt two pairs of warm arms wrapped around his body.

"Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia, who was sleeping in the same bed as Naofumi, frantically called out to him, stroking his back in an attempt to calm him down. Keel, who was also in the same bed, looked at the man with worry, as she held him close to her. Ake also woke up in a shock, seeing the hero suffer some sort of nightmare.

"Huff… huff… huff…" Naofumi kept hyperventilating for a minute, until finally, he began to slow down. His heart stopped pounding in his ears. His hands stopped trembling as they found warmth and tranquility in theirs. And finally, his tense body finally relaxed and drooped. "Raphtalia…? Keel…?"

"Master Naofumi… are you okay?" Keel whispered in his ears, worried about him. She saw his eyes, as they resembled Raphtalia's from the mine:

Horror.

"I'm fine…" Naofumi simply said, trying to brush it all off. The two ladies tried to pry, saying it wasn't healthy to keep it in, but Naofumi did it anyway and went back to sleep.

There was no way he could tell them.

**.o0o.**

**2 hours until the Wave**

"Are you sure this is the best place to be, Shield Hero?"

"Yes, absolutely."

The men and women of Lute were highly skeptical of the insides of the mine, thinking they were full of monsters. While Naofumi and his party reassured them that the mines were completely empty, some of them still had their doubts. However, the mayor reassured that if Naofumi cleared out the mines with his party, then they can trust him and have nothing to worry about.

"Are you really sure? The rumours about this mine…" One of the more skeptical mothers tried to ask.

"Look, how about this?" Naofumi pulled out a linkshell to the people. "Who can channel mana here?" He called out, with a few of the people raising their hands. It ranged from a few salespeople, the apothecary, and even a child. Looking at the child, Naofumi was sure that she could handle it. "You can channel mana, kid?"

"Y-Yeah… Mama said I have this gift for magic… but the other boys tease me about it." A few kids looked away from that, but Naofumi only shook his head.

"Heh, well, you can prove them wrong." Naofumi smiled and gave the linkshell to the girl. "Whenever you are in trouble, channel your mana here and scream for my name."

"Huh? How?"

"Try it." Naofumi offered, and the girl focused hard on the crystal. Suddenly, a screen of her pops out from Naofumi's necklace, making everyone gasp in wonder. "See? You'll be able to communicate with me anytime you're in danger. Alright?"

"Y-Yes, Mr. Shield Hero, sir!" The little girl smiled and hugged the hero, before walking back to the townspeople, who proceeded to look in awe at the device. The mayor smiled, before looking back at Naofumi.

"I'm glad that you have offered your services to protect us, O Shield Hero." The mayor thanked, bowing his head in gratitude. Naofumi only rolled his eyes: he hated being called the Shield Hero, but he tried to have the mayor break that habit.

"Right. Ring if you need anything." Naofumi called out, as he began to march back outside. '_Hope they don't break it though…'_

**.o0o.**

"Master Naofumi, are you sure you're okay?" Raphtalia asked, the concern still eating at her. The outburst from the night had the three of them worried about the state of their party leader.

"I told you I'm fine. It's nothing to be concerned about." Naofumi replied in a tired tone, wanting this conversation to be dropped.

"Was it that nightmare last night?" Keel suddenly asked, with Naofumi not saying a word. But he did look at Keel's eyes, and they were the same doe-eyed look that was just begging him to spill the beans.

"Maybe after the Wave." Naofumi promised, as he looked into the shield's timer.

**00:00:00:20**

"Almost time." Naofumi informed the group. "Enough potions and tonics?"

"Yes." Raphtalia nodded.

"Gear in check?"

"All good here." Ake replied.

"Ready to give it your all?"

"Yep!" Keel confirmed.

"Good. Here we go!"

**00:00:00:00**

A flash of light engulfed the four of them, as they arrived to the Wave's location: on the top of the cliffs nearby Lute.

"Whoa… what the...?" Ake felt a little dizzy being warped, but noticed the sky rippling and multicoloured portals appearing. Floods of zombies and bat creatures began to fall from the sky.

"Here we go!" Naofumi commanded his party members to attack while changing to **Magus**. Raphtalia swing at the agile giant bees, cleaving them in one slice, while Keel smashed a zombie per punch or kick. Ake assisted both of them with his shield and sword by blocking and stunning key opponents. "You three, stand back now!" Naofumi then commanded to his unit, as he finished charging his spell while equipping his **Cerberus Shield**.

"**O divine lightning, I call upon thee! Attach to my foes, and cast judgement on their sins! Triplecast Chain Lightning!"**

Three arcs of lightning fired from the stick, zapping nearly all of the spawned enemies, from frying the bees to discombobulating the zombies to death. Their corpses lit up like a light show, sparks flying uncontrollably, as one by one they fell to the ground, dead. One would have been enough to kill half of the monsters, but three was a bit overkill.

"Amazing…" Raphtalia breathed out, before more began to spawn, and the process repeated itself. The monsters showed up, and promptly got sliced and bashed by the four of them, with Naofumi using **Fencer** and **Assassin** instead of **Magus** to assist. The second horde of enemies were put down, but it felt like they were going nowhere.

A third group began to spawn as the second one was cleared out. Ake, Raphtalia and Keel gripped their weapons once again and readied themselves to charge ahead, until they heard Naofumi's voice.

"STOP!"

His voice halted the three of them, and they turned their heads to their leader.

"H-Huh? Why are you stopping us, Master!?" Keel demanded, but then she saw him pointing to the monsters.

They're ignoring the party, and they're flying somewhere else (walking for the zombies).

"What?" Ake watched as the monsters simply ignored them and sauntered into the forest. "Where are they headed to?" The answer came to him with the four of them saw a fireball shoot up from the sky, and exploded like a firework. _'Signal flare? Those are from the Knights!'_

"Follow them! Destroy any monster that comes in your way!" Naofumi commanded, and the four of them ran towards their direction, killing any zombie or bee they come across.

**.o0o.**

"Oh God! How many of these things are there?!" A small group of Juvenile knights kept fending off the bees and zombies that were walking towards them in a clearing in the forest, and the caravan that they were assigned to protect. Now, however, they were close to getting surrounded, with nowhere to go.

"Hey, maybe some healing spells can help, Sir Priest?" A sarcastic cry for help came from one of the knights nearly drowning in zombie knights called out. But there was no answer, nor was there any healing spell. All they saw was their client, praying and mumbling… something.

"Damnit! This isn't looking good, Vice-Captain!" A female knight behind the helmet attempted to slash her axe at the zombies, beheading some of them. However, a strike from one of the zombie knights hit her hands, causing her axe to be knocked away.

"Shit! Where's the Captain and the reinforcements?!" The Vice-Captain grunted as he fell on one knee. They used a signal flare to call for reinforcements, hoping the knights, or a Hero, or _anyone_ could spot and rescue them. But it seems like it was going to be their last moments of living on the front lines as the countless zombie knights prepares to strike with its greatsword.

"**SHIELD LOB**!"

A familiar voice called out, and a shield slammed into the face of the zombie knight, and made it stumble. This surprised the Vice-Captain, as it didn't sound like the Captain at all. "**SHIELD BASH**!" The same voice jumped in, grabbing his shield as it rebounded back, and smashing it in the zombie knight's face like a football player's tackle, causing it to fall.

"Huh…?" The Vice-Captain looked up, and saw a very familiar face defending him. "P-Private Ake? You came back!"

Ake looked back at the man. "Are you alright, Vice Captain?" The knight smiled at his former superior, who was surprised that he came back after everything that has happened in Melromarc. How could a former knight that was dishonourably discharged have the heart to help out his former unit? That was what made Ake so special. "Cmon, it isn't over yet! I'll buy you time, but hurry and get up!" Handing the Vice-Captain a healing potion, he ran back and used his **Taunt** on those groups of enemies to lure them away from him.

The other knights were surprised as well, not just the appearance of their former private Ake, but the Shield Hero helping them too. Isn't he considered a criminal to some, and a demonic being by the others? Then why are they helping? Then, they felt a healing spell cast on them, but it wasn't from the mumbling priest, it was from Naofumi. "**Clemency!**" The Shield Hero, who swapped to **Cleric** away from prying eyes, cast a widespread healing spell that splashed on all of the knights, mending their wounds and healing their stamina quickly. The Shield Hero then walked into the forest clearing, with his two demi-human ladies destroying all of the enemies like dough. "If you have time to ask why, then you have time to fight! Get in there!" The Shield Hero, swapping back to **Shield Hero** once more, barked at them like a commander, using **Rally **to increase their attack, defense and speed, along with regenerating health and invigorating their fighting spirits once more.

"KNIGHTS! IN FORMATION!" The Vice-Captain commanded with newly renewed vigour, with the Juvenile Knights going into a phalanx formation, their weapons out and ready to use for fighting.

"SIR YES SIR!" The knights roared, and charged to the enemies, cleaving right through them like butter, assisting Naofumi and his party in routing and killing the zombie knights and bees that were once nearly going to overwhelm them. Blades met with flesh, as the zombies were now the ones who were overwhelmed, falling onto the ground and disintegrating. What was once an incomplete unit that was close to falling apart, was now a complete and absolute unit overtaking everything.

"It feels great to be back." Ake said to himself, something that wasn't missed by the female axe-wielding knight.

"It's great to _have_ you back, Ake!" The female knight corrected him in a warm tone, while slicing through a zombie knight in two.

"You know, I never once stopped looking up to you."

"And I never stopped believing in you, Ake… I…"

_**GRAAUH!**_

_**CRACK! SLICE!**_

"Err… talk to you after this, Ake?"

"Uhh, yeah sure!"

The other knights shook their heads at that. Who knew that after some time, Ake the runt could tame a wild beast like her?

Finally, the last zombie knight was killed off, and the knights cheered for a job well saved. Raphtalia and Keel cheered along with them, savouring the victory.

But Naofumi narrowed his eyes…

'_That was too easy… where is the Boss?'_

However, unbeknownst to all of them, a light fired into the sky. Naofumi felt a change in temperature as he saw the globe expand. "Everyone, take cover!" The knights and Naofumi's party saw the globe tremble and explode into many other fireballs. Many knights, including Ake, raised their shields or hid behind other knights with shields, blocking some of the damage, but left patches of grass burning up. Naofumi gathered his two girls and used **Reflect** to bounce them away.

"What the… who would send a spell like that?" The Vice-Captain asked himself, and the answer he got was in the form of metal footsteps behind Naofumi. The Shield Hero only stood up straight before looking behind him.

"You again?" Naofumi sighed, his anger hidden behind indifference. It was the Captain, smiling.

"Well well! The legendary durability of the Shield and its Hero remains to be uncontested!" The Captain sneered, the sight of the Shield Hero continuing to aggravate him. However, the two slave girls dashed towards the Captain, each of them landing a blow on him. "Argh!" The Captain cried out from landing harshly on his metal ass then stood up in anger. The other knights with the Captain drew their swords out, ready to lash out on the two of them. "You… demi-humans! How dare you do this to your human superior!"

"Shut up!" Keel rebuked. "We were all here, and we killed the bad guys already!"

"Even if there are any, you knew we were here and yet you fired that attack anyway! Why?!" Raphtalia growled out, both her sword and Keel's fists shaking for another strike. The Captain only smirked, showing his arrogant authority around.

"We simply chose the best course of action: the enemies gather here for some reason, we'll simply used the best method to burn them all down. Besides, you all survived thanks to your pitiful Shield Hero, right?" The Captain sneered, the answer nearly causing Raphtalia and Keel to explode in anger and strike again, but Naofumi stopped them in time.

"Even if it meant your knights suffer for it?" The Shield Hero asked, glaring at the Captain, who only raised an eyebrow. Jamming his thumb behind him, Naofumi pointed to a few burning trees, some hurt knights, a roasting caravan, and a pissed off Vice-Captain.

"CAPTAAAAAAIN!" Apparently able to hear the conversation, the Vice looked positively angry, as he stomped towards the Captain, who was shocked at the sight. "DID YOU FIRE THAT SPELL? DIDN'T YOU KNOW WE WERE HERE PROTECTING A CARAVAN?!"

'_There's the mutiny.'_ Naofumi sighed, leaving the tin cans to their matter. The patches of grass and trees were worrying him, so Naofumi swapped to **Magus**, and triplecasted **Fluid Aura**, splashing balls of water on the burning patches of grasslands, hoping it won't spread. The fire extinguished from the water easily; there was just a lot of them though. Soon, the caravan was the last one left, and it was extinguished through a **Fluid Aura**, but Naofumi noticed something in there.

"Hey, one of you." The hero called for one of the knights. "Was there anyone inside that caravan?" One of the knights, the female that was talking with Ake (some can call it flirting) went up to the curious Naofumi.

"Yeah, that priest guy. What happened to him?" The knight looked inside the caravan, only noticing a red orb in the wagon's floor instead… "Huh? What's this orb?" The knight tried to reach for it, but Naofumi noticed a menacing glow.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Reacting accordingly, Naofumi grabbed the knight and hit the floor with her. Suddenly, an explosion came from the caravan, bursting with unholy red lightning. Raphtalia and Kewl gasped, along with half the knights too, as the red orb began to pulsate with power, and rise into the air.

"What is that thing doing?!" The Captain panicked at the sight, the knights scared to anticipate what it will do. However, before it could do anything, there was a rustling in the distance, like a bull or a lion rushing through the grass. Then suddenly, the rustling sounded like trampling.

It was a Chimera, an incredibly wounded one at that.

'_Wha… is that… the boss?'_ Naofumi was dumbstruck by the sudden appearance of the boss, until it did something nobody expected it to do.

It jumped, and ate the orb.

"Oh no…" Naofumi thought out loud, as he heard more rustling from the same direction. Out came three people he actually expected to see.

"Naofumi?!" It was the Three Heroes, and their parties, looking rather winded, but also confused to see Naofumi. "Where the hell were you, Naofumi?!" Motoyasu tried to ask and catch his attention. The Shield Hero didn't bother looking at the Spear Hero, as his attention was solely focused on the Chimera. Landing on the ground with an earthly stomp, the Chimera roared and regenerated, its other heads doing the same, as it began to glow a menacing red. While the others were wondering what is up with the Chimera, Naofumi gritted his teeth at the status message from his Shield about the Chimera.

**Chimera used **_**Growing Threat.**_** All of its stats, its level, and its size is now doubled.**

**Good luck, 'Shield Hero'.**

* * *

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!********

* * *

**And that's that.**

**Yes, that Chimera is a threat, and the story may change from that standpoint, now that Naofumi is involved in slaying the beast.**

**Yes, I stole that move from Shinryu and Kroakadile from Final Fantasy.**

**Yes, that orb. I wonder what that is.**

**No, Naofumi isn't crazy. There was something on that cliff. When you live in the game for so long, you start to... see things.**

**Yes, the Captain is dumb.**

**Yes, the dream Naofumi had was something that happened in the past. I wonder what it was about.**

**Yes, Alchemist was the next job. I wanted a job with utility, and Alchemist has the brains for alchemy and the smarts for money, so why not combine both?**

**Yes, the Cerberus shield does not attack. It grants inherent buffs though, and that in and of itself is a plus.**

**That's all the time I got. Expect another chapter next week! Remember to like, favourite and even leave a review to tell me what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9: Struggles Revealed

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS MINOR EDITING IN PROGRESS HERE FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!********

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_The use of the Tyrantress's black magicks were completely unknown to us. From what the queen has tried to make us do, she ordered the destruction of smaller villages and waged countless wars against the Shield Hero's kingdom: Siltvelt. While I have nothing against demi-humans on a personal level, my team certainly did. However, the reasoning that she has provided us was simply 'for her and her alone'. To satiate her own lust for power and vanity, to the point of conquering all that stands in her way. If she saw something that was more powerful, then she would destroy it, or absorb it into her ranks or into herself._

_And nothing stood in her way. Not the other kingdoms that now bend their knees towards her, not the powerful uprising rebels or conquerors, not even the Four Omens of the world. All of them fell at the hand of the Tyrantress and Three of the Four Cardinal Heroes... except for one. The Shield Hero of Siltvelt._

_\- Mid-passage of the Destroyed Research notes of the Melromarcian Research Facility_

* * *

_"__**Wind Arrow**__!" The Bow let loose its arrows._

"_**Flame Sword**__!" The Sword released a flaming wave from the hilt._

"_Take this! __**Lightning Spear**__!" The Spear Hero gave a hard thrust with his spear and blasted the Chimera electrical energy, dealing critical damage. The beast roared, until it became silent upon its thud. Only a few seconds of silence flew by until the Spear Hero cheered, raiding his Spear in victory. "Aww yeahhh!"_

"_Whew… Glad we got it taken down." Itsuki assured himself, rubbing his shoulders. His other party members were praising him like a group of cheerleaders in the back._

_Ren, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief from fighting the boss. "I do wonder… where's Naofumi?" Usually the quiet man would teleport with them to the area, but he was nowhere to be seen._

"_Mmm… I didn't see him anywhere. Did he run?" Itsuki offhandedly wonder. Wasn't like a hero to just boldly run, but after remember what he has done ever since their meeting... Motoyasu only shrugged in an uncaring fashion._

"_Doesn't matter. We won, so who cares?" Motoyasu answered, with Malty only laughing on the side._

"_Probably ran away like the unattackable coward he is!" Malty added, but Ren and Itsuki shook their head._

"_Highly unlikely." Itsuki thought out loud. "Don't you remember what happened at the gates?" That shut Malty up, as she couldn't forget that big display of magic. Motoyasu almost forgot about it too, and the reminder only made him grit his teeth._

"_He's probably somewhere out there… wherever that is, we won't know." Ren ended the discussion, and was going to walk off back to Melromarc, until a red violent glow of light flashed in the distance. The three parties gasped at the sudden light show, as red lightning began to zap around it uncontrollably._

"_The hell?! What is that?" Motoyasu couldn't take his eyes off of it, as the glow pulsated and intensified. Malty began to go pale from the sight as well, but then a growl was heard from behind._

"_The Chimera!" One of Ren's party members shrieked as the Boss roared. It looked incredibly wounded, but it leaned over its untouched limbs with surprisingly invigorated strength and dashed into the trees, towards the direction of the light. _

"_After it!" Motoyasu charged right in, with the other heroes and party members following._

**.o0o.**

The Heroes all stared in shock at the sight of the new and improved Chimera. Its skin turned obsidian like a basilisk, and its fur crimson. The lion's eyes glowed a menacing red, with the ram's eyes glowing a light blue. The serpent tail began to grow horns and thicker scales like a dragon, and its eyes glowed purple. Overall, it looked much more demonic and hellish than before, as there were no sign of injury or scars from the previous battle.

"Ngh… This just got a lot harder, thanks to these idiots…!" Naofumi growled, as the Chimera began to make its advance. Motoyasu wasn't going to be deterred so easily, and readied his spear.

"We took it down once, we can do it again! **Lightning Spear!**" Motoyasu thrust his spear like last time, sending electricity through the shaft and towards the Chimera. While he expected the same result, this time it was different. The Chimera simply shrugged it off, knocking the attack away. "H-Huh?" Motoyasu and his party dropped their jaws, shocked at the outcome. This was a much tougher Chimera.

In retaliation, the feral beast reared its lion head, the eyes glowing red. It suddenly shot out a couch sized fireball at Motoyasu, who tried to jump out of the way, but his leg got slightly singed by the attack.

"What the…? It couldn't breathe fire before!" Motoyasu exclaimed in pain and shock, now a little afraid of what this Chimera is now capable of. Malty and her two Mages began to charge their magical attacks.

"**Zweite Fire Blast!**" The three of them chanted, firing a ginormous ball of searing hot flame to the Chimera, but the ram head began to have its blue eyes glow. Suddenly, it blew an frigid ice breath, dissipating the fireball easily into mist, as it began to create balls of ice from the air.

"Ahh!" Malty shrieked in shock, before a ball of ice nearly hit them her and her friends, blowing them back in an icy shockwave.

"Ice too?!" Itsuki couldn't believe the sheer power spike the Chimera got, but he can't just sit still. "**Piercing Arrow!**" He shouted his skill, drawing and firing a powerful arrow towards the Chimera's rear. It would have worked… if the dragon didn't catch the arrow with its mouth with inhuman reaction. "No way!" Itsuki gaped like a fish, as the dragon spat out the arrow. This boss had no weak points or weak spots.

"Damn… no weak points at all?" Ren muttered to himself, gritting his teeth at this no-win scenario. They tried everything, and it's going to end like this? Still, he wasn't going to idly wait; he's a Hero! He's trained for this moment, and no monster was going to quash his efforts into dust! Pulling his sword out, he assumed a battle stance. "Rrgh! Damnit! Looks like I have to take it out myself!" Ren snarled as he charged through, ignoring his party who looked completely stumped.

"W-What?! You can't do this alone! We've never talked about team tact-!" His mage companions began, but the young man ran off to begin his assault. The rest of the party didn't know what to do.

Ren jumped and readied his blade on the lion's head. "Take this! **Sonic Slash**!" The Sword Hero spun like a sawblade and landed his sword on the head, but it didn't do a dent on the Chimera's forehead. However, Ren wasn't done yet, but what happened next wasn't part of his plan.

The ranger fired a few arrows, hoping to distract the snake head, while fire spells from the mage were launched to keep the ram head at bay. However, Ren wasn't too happy with the interruption. "HEY! BACK OFF!" He shouted at the two of them, who flinched at his words.

"B-but we only want to he-! LOOK OUT!" The mage screamed, pointing at the Chimera with dread. Ren turned onto to see the glaring blue eyes of the ram head, having a blue aura around it. Suddenly, that head shrieked, turning everything around its body into ice, including the fallen Ren.

"Gaaahh!" Ren shrieked, feeling the cold ice crawl up his entire body until only his head was left intact. "C-c-cold…!" He shivered, his limbs unable to move, as even his nerves were completely numb.

"Ren!" His party called out, as the other two Heroes looked on in disbelief. However, they weren't prepared for when the head of the purple-eyes dragon glowing and shrieking, firing electricity all over the field, shocking everybody in the vicinity, except for Ren, and rendering them completely paralyzed.

"N-no…" Ren quivered, as he was helpless against the Chimera now. Images of his past and his present life flashed before his eyes as the Chimera's jaws opened for its meal. Ren closed his eyes, awaiting the end…

"**Shoulder Tackle!"**

_**BAM!**_

…until he opened his eyes and saw one of Naofumi's slaves, the wolfgirl, literally shoulder tackle the chimera's head on the side, stunning it heavily.

"**Sonic Wave!"**

_**WOOSH!**_

A shockwave from the ground glided along the grass, hitting the beast on the belly and making it stumble. Finally...

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

A giant green shield spawned right where the feet of the boss was stumbling, tripping the empowered beast onto its side. The two ladies leapt back to their party leader, the man who has set his attack plan in motion, Naofumi, stood in front.

"Good work, Raphtalia, Keel." His voice congratulated the two, which made the two of them mewl silently. "Now, we need to get Ren out of this ice."

"N-N-Na-Naofumi… H-H-H-" Ren chattered. He was above asking others for help, but this monster had to be dealt with altogether. The Shield Hero began to chant his spell when he swapped to **Magus**.

"_**The destroyer of nature, heed my call, gather in my hands, and wreathe my enemies in your baptism! Flamethrower!"**_

The man breathed out a weak flamethrower at Ren's ice prison, melting it away enough for the young man to break free, although he was still shivering madly. Then, in his hands, Naofumi gave Ren some potions and orange-coloured tonics.

"High-quality healing potions, and high-quality **Spine Drops**. Should help them recover their HP and from their paralyzed joints." Naofumi informed Ren, like a commander, but the young swordsman still wasn't done.

"Where were you?" Ren demanded to know, glaring at the Shield Hero.

"Leading the knights away from the Chimera. They are too much of a liability just like you." Naofumi coolly replied, making Ren's jaw drop from his words.

"W-What are you s-saying?! If three o-of the H-Heroes can't b-beat the b-boss, w-what ch-chance do you h-h-have?!" The shivering Ren snapped at him, but Naofumi only jabbed his thumb behind him. The other Heroes and their party members were clearly conscious, but they were unable to get up due to their paralysis from the electricity.

"If you can't play smart with your team, then you might as well walk home, Sword Hero." Naofumi glared at the young man, showing that he was completely tired of his foolish philosophy, and readied to fight. "Besides, my party and I are enough for this fight."

"W-Wha…?" Ren couldn't understand. How could Naofumi completely trust his team like that? "But… why? Don't team members only hold you back?!" Ren bellowed at him. "That immense power… How…?"

"Ren. Look at me." Naofumi's words made him look at his face. Those eyes weren't the eyes of a tired man… they were from a veteran warrior. "I don't know what games you've been playing, but I can assure you this: you aren't a special snowflake. Sure you have a very special sword, but that can only do so much in a foreign world. I can assure you that the people here are very real, and can help you, if you allow them. And until you get that head out of your ass, you and your party members are only gonna get so far, until it crashes down on you, and sets you up on the pathway to fail. After all… I'm only able to fight because of my party." The man turned back to the Chimera, who was slowly getting up. Raphtalia and Keel got into their battle stances, as Ake returned from the forest.

"Naofumi! The knights are safety out of harm's way!" Ake informed the Shield, who nodded, and then turned back to the contemplating Ren.

"... So what will you do now, Ren?" Naofumi asked, before he charged in, with his party, leaving Ren to ponder, and look at the numerous medicines he was given.

**.o0o.**

Naofumi hoped those words got to Ren, because taking this powered-up monster down will be difficult. A Wave Boss monster whose levels doubled easily range in the 50s or 60s, dwarfing everybody else's levels is dangerous. But that didn't matter. He's still going to win this thing with his party. "LET'S GO!" He commanded, and the three of them encircled the boss. Using his **Taunt**, the eyes of the lion and the ram began to lock into Naofumi, as it tries to attack, with claws and fangs trying to slash and bite at the man to no avail. The other two heads were up to the three.

"You two, I'll keep the boss at bay! Get rid of that dragon head!" Ake told the two, as he used his own **Taunt** on the dragon head, making it come to him. It tried to snap its jaws at the man, but he dodged and even got a few shots at it. Raphtalia and Keel even got a few attacks most of the time, but it was apparent that Keel's attacks did much more damage. Apparently, its hardened skin made it ironically more vulnerable to blunt attacks compared to slashing or piercing attacks.

"It's like breaking rocks with this guy, which was something I was trained to do!" Keel smirked, but the dragon was starting to become daring. Raising its head, its eyes and body glowed a sinister purple, making Naofumi widen his eyes.

"Keel! Stop that head from using its attack!" Naofumi commanded, with Keel being more than happy to oblige. She jumped on Ake's shield and landed on the Chimera's back. The lion head may be too busy to notice, but the ram head turned 180 degrees and its eyes glowed blue.

"Raphtalia, get that ram head!" Naofumi commanded the raccoon girl, while holding back a slashing paw, as soon as he saw the ram head open its mouth and leak its own liquid nitrogen. Raphtalia understood, and ran towards it with a battlecry, leaping high, and aimed right at the head. Surprisingly, it pierced right through the ram's upper mouth and cleanly through to the back of its head, where the brain was. Punctured right through, the ram's head wailed from the excruciating pain, as it flailed about on Raphtalia's sword hilt.

"Alright, now…!" Keel held the dragon's neck with her arms and began to squeeze its neck, deftly choking it, evident from the wheezes and coughs it was making. It began to thrash about, as the electrical energy was being clogged.

"Good, you two! Now get behind us!" Naofumi commanded once again, blocking the lion's face with an **Air Strike Shield**, while Ake slashes its lion face once again. Raphtalia, however, was stuck on the ram head.

"Hnng! I can't… get my... sword out!" Raphtalia kept pulling her hilt on the ram's head, until it broke apart, making her fall to the ground.

"Raphie!" Keel shouted to her, inadvertently letting go of the dragon head and jumping down, making the dragon head's throat bulge out. Naofumi's eyes widened at the dragon's voice about to shock them again.

"**Cover!**" He called out his skill, shields appearing around the two girls and tethering a line to Naofumi, as the electricity fired once again, this time in close proximity. The Chimera shocked itself with its own attack, considering the buildup and the sudden release, and Naofumi cried out in pain, the triple attacks of electricity from himself, Raphtalia and Keel zapping through his system threefold. It felt incredibly painful.

"Naofumi!" Ake cried out, using his shield to block the dragon's voice. It softened the blow for Naofumi, but it still hurt like hell though!

Soon, the Chimera flopped to the ground, tired out and in pain, as the ram and dragon heads lay limp. The four of them slowly stood up, except for Naofumi, taking in the solace. They just defeated a Chimera, an extremely powerful one at that, and Keel couldn't help but cheer.

"Yeeeeah! Take that! We won, master!" Keel cheered, pumping her fists in the air. Ake felt the same sentiment, while Raphtalia chuckled at her friend's antics. Naofumi however…

"No…" The man muttered, making all three of them stop at look at him.

"Wha?"

_**GRAAAUUUUGH!**_

The beast roared to life once more, a fireball quickly charging up in the lion's mouth and let loose towards the shocked party.

"Not yet! **Reflect**!" A green barrier of light appeared around Naofumi, but even that wasn't enough to bounce it back, as the barrier simply broke due to its sheer power. Naofumi took the full force of the fireball, yet the power of the fireball blown the party back to the ground.

"Auugh! Naofumi!" The three of them called to the man, who has taken an exploding fireball to the face. They could see the singe marks on his body and cape, and even his face had black marks on it. His hair smelt of burning and Shield was black with burn marks. The Chimera then roared once again, like a berserker coming back to life. Its health regenerating to full, its heads fully repaired, and powering up once again, it roared, the aura of malice and hatred beginning to feel compressing to the party.

"No… isn't there anything we can do?" Ake implored, hiding behind his shield.

"Damn… I don't think I can get close again!" Keel has to shield her eyes, feeling the fear crawl up her skin. Was there truly nothing they could do?

Raphtalia looked completely frightened, but she hasn't lost hope yet. But without a weapon, she can't do anything…

"Raphtalia."

Naofumi's words shook her out of her thoughts. "Y-Yes?" She stuttered.

"Do you trust me?" His question seemed to make her raise an eyebrow, but it seemed like he had a plan.

"Y-Yes, I do!" Raphtalia confirmed for him. He then held his stick out for her to hold. "U-Uh… What am I-?"

"Hold onto it, quick." She didn't think twice, as she held onto it. But what is a stick going to do to help them out? As soon as Naofumi began chanting, Raphtalia held on tight, unaware of what he had planned.

**"Spirits within, hear my call! Spirits without, taste your fall! For the bridge between the heavens and hells shall be formed with these very hands! _Light Ferry_!"**

The stick glowed like a bright golden star, enveloping the pair like the morning sun. She could feel the power radiating, nearly enough for her to drop it out of wonder. Soon, the stick momentarily transformed into a majestic broadsword, glowing brilliantly like a legendary weapon. Raphtalia couldn't take her eyes off of it, as it was so beautiful.

"Raphtalia! Strike down that Chimera! You only got one shot!" Naofumi snapped the raccoon girl out of her trance, and she nodded to her master in return. The Chimera and Raphtalia charged towards each other, roaring their battlecries, intent on ending this battle one last time.

_**GRAAAAAUGGHHH!**_

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

_**SLICE!**_

Only silence was met as the two enemies went through each other in their final attack. The tension was heavy. The others watched with unease. And then finally…

The Chimera felt something go down its head... It was blood. Its own blood. Bisected in two, the beast gurgled and, before it knew it, the beast fell apart, dead.

"We… did it…" Raphtalia said to herself in between pants, smiling triumphant as she gripped the stick Naofumi entrusted her with, along with his blessing. That made her feel warm inside.

"Raphie!" Keel called out to her as she ran into Raphtalia's arms. "That was soooooo COOL! You killed that monster in one slice!" The wolfgirl hugged the girl, nearly in tears. "And I was so worriiiiiiied!" She then bawled out in tears, making Raphtalia pet her back.

"There there. It was all thanks to Master Naofumi, after all." The two girls looked at the Shield Hero with appreciative smiles, as he looked a little worse for wear, and Ake, walking in, patted the man in the back.

"Can't believe the four of us did it. Cutting down a malicious Chimera like that… I never thought we could do it…!" Ake, in a disbelieving tone, recounted, smiling at Naofumi.

'_Probably because it was doubled in power, but I guess they don't know that.'_ Naofumi thought, then looked at his shield. That ominous message he got about the Chimera using **Growing Threat** made him uneasy. Who was trying to impede his progress? Was it trying to impede his progress? And why?

The skies began to turn back to normal, as the dimensional tears closed back into a regular afternoon sky. The Wave was finished, and it felt beautiful once more.

Footsteps were heard as the party turned around, and they were greeted with the Juvenile Knights and the Three Heroes. All of them had varying expressions.

"Seems like you all liked what you saw." Naofumi had a smirk on his face. Crossing his hands on his chest, he absorbed the expressions they had with his eyes with satisfaction.

"H-How…?" Ren and Itsuki could only breathe out the words. It was unbelievable to have watched the spectacle with their own two eyes. Motoyasu just stared at the man speechless, jaw dropping towards the floor.

"I'm just that good!" Naofumi jokingly replied, before looking at the knights. Some of them, like the Captain, looked angry and in disbelief, while others, like the Vice, were in awe and relieved to have the Shield Hero rescues and defeat the Wave monsters.

"Wha…? YOU did this? YOU slew the beast?" The Captain dropped his jaw, stuttering at Naofumi, who only rolled his eyes.

"Yes, ME, and my party." Naofumi clarified, putting his hands on Keel's head and Raphtalia's head, much to their chagrin. "Why is it so hard to believe? Ake and I protect, Keel and Raphtalia attack."

"T-That's not what I mean!" The Captain rebuked.

"That can't be what the Shield Hero can do! W-Wasn't the Shield Hero unable to attack?!" Malty tried her argument.

"Then I guess your information about the Shield is truly outdated." Naofumi countered with a shrug.

"B-But the Shield Hero can't cast magic! He can't use a weapon, no less a stick! It's unnatural!" The Captain argued.

"Outdaaaaaated." Naofumi drawled out.

"B-But..."

"Outdaaaaaaaaaaaaated. It's a waste of time trying to get the answers out from me or my party using your outdated information."

"I-It's still unnatural! Y-You can't be the Shield Hero! You're supposed to be weak! To be killed off!" Malty shouted at him.

"Really? Says who? God on high?" Naofumi asked, raising an eyebrow at her outburst. Malty faltered from that, feeling like she said too much.

"Naofumi! You can't argue with a princess like that!" Motoyasu defended the woman. Motoyasu looked at the man like he was crazy.

"Seriously, you're STILL defending the woman, despite all the evidence? That woman is clearly a spoiled brat." Naofumi snapped at him, which made him falter a bit. Seems like he had second thoughts about it.

"W-Well, that isn't important! You should still treat a lady with respect."

"Respecting a lady is different from respecting a liar. Compared to my fine slaves and friends," Naofumi patted both a smiling Keel and an embarrassed Raphtalia on the backs, while Ake simply rubbed the back of his head, "yours is simply a lying bitch." The two girls giggled and Ake raised his eyebrows at the insult, but figured that the man always had the audacity to do and say incredibly surprising things. Malty looked like she was ready to blow a casket, while the others just stared in disbelief.

None of that was compared to Motoyasu growling at him. Not just because he called Malty (whom he still believed in) a trashy bitch, but because he revealed the two slave girls that he has been holding. Being a chivalrous guy himself, he will not let that slide. Gripping his spear, the man charged at the Shield Hero.

"NAOFUMIIIIIII!" Motoyasu screamed, but Naofumi readied his wand as he swapped to **Magus.**

"**Stalagmite!"** Naofumi shouted his spell, making a sharp rocky pillar rise underneath Motoyasu, causing him to squeal like a girl when it shoved itself up his taint. It was quite comical, as he flew high into the sky, and landed on his back ungracefully. "Don't try to do that again." Naofumi offhandedly warn the fallen Spear Hero, before walking off. "We're done here, let's go back to Lute." His party agreed and exited the forest, while Malty and the party checked up on him.

* * *

**********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS MINOR EDITING IN PROGRESS HERE FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**********

* * *

**Whew. That was fun. When you're holed up during a thunderstorm, a nice storywriting would do the trick.**

**Yes, Light Ferry still exists. It makes anything the caster holds on-par with power that even surpasses the legendary weapons, but only for one strike.**

**Yes, mutiny will come later.**

**Yes, the duel is later. I can't write that out of the canon because it's one of the better parts of the show.**

**Yes, Queen KFC mama loli burb that can fly through sheer kuudere powers AKA Fitoria is coming later, and she and Naofumi may or may not have some deep history about each other. Depends on their memories.**

**No, Naofumi may not be OP to many people's standards, but he is to the universe's canon. Swapping jobs, knowing magic spells he shouldn't know. It's unnatural to them. That's what makes this Naofumi especially overpowered. The next episode will explore a bit more about this.**

**Yes, that female knight is getting more screen time. Here's a hint: she has a sister that's inside Melromarc's prison right now. Another hint: she and Ake may be getting more time together too.**

**And that's it! Oh, and one more thing! Vote now on what the next job will be! I only count votes in the reviews since I am a busy man. The jobs are:**

_**Machinist, user of the gun and various gadgets, only known through steampunk.**_

_**Holy Knight, user of the sword and holy magics, with the power to protect and smite enemies.**_

**Vote now in the reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10: Fête And Fancy Free

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN RE-EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS MINOR EDITING IN PROGRESS HERE FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! I wasn't proud of the first edit.**

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_I remember from the first day, ever since I was summoned, that it all felt familiar. The beckoning, the royalty... and the day of the __fête. A celebration to welcome a Hero into their midst after a long day of training and combating the Waves of Calamity once and for all. However, the back of my mind told me to be vigilant and suspicious, and unfortunately those suspicions were proven right. As soon as I tried my platter of food, I felt sick and poisoned. Within the kingdom I swore to protect, I thought I felt protected... but I was not._

_Fêtes were celebrations that I just couldn't stand, a reason being that __I was an easy target: poisoned food and wine, assassins can kidnap you into blind spots, information from the higher-ups announcing rumours, announcements of pure humiliation... Anything and I mean ANYTHING can go wrong; and the worse part...  
_

_...was that it can happen to ANYONE._

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 1_

* * *

"_Thank you, Hero! Thank you so much!"_

_The Mayor and the townspeople all cheered when they saw the Shield Hero return. Naofumi kind of tuned it all out, as he was quite tired. Fighting a Chimera would do that. As the townspeople were singing and arriving, Naofumi noticed that they weren't the first ones to arrive._

"_Sir Shield Hero." The Juvenile Knights awaited him at the gate of Lute, despite being only half the group. It was the Vice-Captain, and the platoon that Naofumi rescued during the Wave. That female knight waves to Ake, who shyly waved back. _

"_What is it?" Naofumi asked, a little exasperated from this ordeal. He had enough of the knights, but at least these ones proved to not be malicious._

"_I'm sorry to have disturbed you, but the King has ordered us to bring you to Melromarc castle for your reward and a banquet to celebrate your victory."_

"_Reward…? What happened to wanting me dead?" Naofumi eyes the Vice, who only sighed._

"_I'm… sorry, but orders are orders. And I do not wish to fight you, after all you have done for us... and for Ake." He apologized, directing his apologetic eyes towards the young knight. "Also, the King would like to have the mayor and the citizens join in the festivities." The man added, bowing his head, with the rest of the knights following his example. While the citizens looked at each other with delight, the prospect of taking a trip towards the castle would be fantastic, the mayor seemed hesitant. _

"_I... Well, the offer seems tempting, but only if the Hero of the Shield decides to go." The mayor bowed his head after checking up on his son. He looked at Naofumi for his input. It doesn't seem like he's siding for any answer._

_Naofumi looked at them with dead silence, as he could tell the Vice-Captain was sweating buckets. He was really liking the guy, but this was Melromarc. What should he choose? Ake, Raphtalia and Keel glanced at Naofumi, pondering for his answer. Everyone waited with bated breath, to see what he would say._

_Then he opened his mouth, drew a breath, and said his answer._

**.o0o.**

"Huh. That's how I got into this…"

Naofumi thought to himself, leaning on the corner of the wall. He was brooding in the corner as a banquet was going on. He didn't even plan for any of this, and yet he wasn't really given a choice…

"_Fine…"_

"_Thank you!"_

"Ughhh… Now I remember... Note to self, no more dinner parties." Naofumi slammed his face in his palm, sighing in his own misery. His hands wrinked within the gloves, as if he could hear the voices and actions of the want to strangle someone. At least the others are doing fine.

"Naofumi!" A voice snapped him out of his reverie, and it made him look at the owner of the voice. Thankfully, he didn't have to strangle someone, because that voice belonged to Ake, hanging with that female knight, who uncovered her helmet.

She had light brown pistachio hair, a catty smile and sharp brown eyes, along with her armour. However, what stood out were the ears and the tail.

"You're… a cat?" Naofumi identified dumbly, which made the girl look at him weirdly.

"A cat demi-human, Naofumi." Ake corrected, which earned him an elbow at his side.

"Cat demi-woman, thank you very much, Sir Naofumi." She corrected, then smiling at Naofumi. "I'm very grateful to have met you in the Wave, sir." The young girl thanked the Hero and shook his hand excitedly.

"Right. You're welcome, Miss...? What's your name?" Naofumi asked.

"Call me Étoile!" The woman dubbed Étoile bowed with a certain grace. "Étoile of House Seaetto, at your service!" She energetically introduces herself.

_'House Seaetto...? Better remember that for later...'_ Naofumi thought to himself, before asking a question towards the cat demi-human. "A pleasure to meet a noblewoman, but what are you doing with the knights?" Étoile's face soured hard.

"It's… I can't tell you. I'm sorry, sir." The cat answered, despondent from withholding secret information. Naofumi scratches it up as someone close to Étoile died or something.

'_Best to not prod.'_ Naofumi thought to himself. "It's fine. Hope you two enjoy the party." The Shield Hero smiled politely, as Étoile waved goodbye and ran back to her squad. Ake, however, didn't look so happy.

"It might be the last party she might enjoy…" Ake said to himself, something that Naofumi caught.

"And why's that?" Naofumi asked.

"Because… after this banquet, they might get discharged from the knights since you assisted them." Ake replied.

"Even the Vice-Captain?"

"He's doing his best to fight for them, in order to keep their positions as defenders of Melromarc. He's having an audience with the King himself, but he hasn't come back for a long while..." Naofumi could tell that Ake looked up to the Vice-Captain as well, judging from the sparkling eyes from before, and the tears now. It felt a little awkward to ask him about the Vice-Captain, but it was necessary to ask.

"If you see Étoile or the Vice or any of those knights, you should tell them that they are always welcome in Lute. They could use the extra hands." Naofumi suggested, with Ake smiling at that. Why didn't he think of that before?

"Yeah! Ya know what? I'll tell them now! Thank you, Naofumi!" Ake smiles and jetted off to Étoile, telling her the news. He began to tune out afterwards, trying to figure out his next move. All he saw from the pair was a gasp from Étoile, and a hug from the both of them.

His own eyes left him to look around. He spotted the Mayor and his guests that he brought as well. The nobles in Melromarc were also talking to each other. Most of them were fawning over the Heroes, but a few of them were either looking at him silently and warily, or whispering and gossiping about him.

As he kept gazing around, he noticed something to the windows on the left. There was a woman talking in the shadows, arguing against who looks like a little girl with pink hair, struggling against... something. It was as if she couldn't move. Sliding closer towards them, Naofumi began to realize who they were.

It was Malty, and that girl was one of Motoyasu's party members, and what they were talking about was not pretty.

**.o0o.**

"You heard me. Neither Lord Motoyasu nor I have any use for you anymore."

The struggling girl growled at the princess Malty, who laughed haughtily at her face. Currently, the little girl was being gagged and bound by two knights, who were taking orders from the princess.

"Mmmmph! Mrrrrrrph!"

The little mage girl screamed out from her gags whatever harsh expletive as tears were close to running down her eyes, but Malty only smiled in her usual sadistic manner, taking in the dread and utter hatred the mage girl had for her. "Oh, look... What's Rino the miscreant child gonna do towards a princess like me? You should have known better than to ignore what I have ordered you to do."

"Mmmmmph!" The mage named Rino screamed out, angered and enraged over her words. However, that only resulted in Malty slapping the girl hard enough to leave a red painful imprint.

"Cry all you want, but what's going to happen to you isn't going to change." Malty conceitedly smirked at the sight of her struggling. It brought such joy to her, seeing her cry and gasp from what's gonna happen to her. "You two, bring her to the client. He's going to have more fun with a young hole like you. Ta ta, little Rino~. I'll take care of Lord Motoyasu with lots of love~." The princess gave her orders waved goodbye to the crying gagged Rino, unable to accept the outcome, and walked back to the party. How could it have come to this? She wanted to be on Lord Motoyasu's side, growing strong to stand behind and help him, not... fall onto the whims of being sold as a slave! However, it was useless as the two snickering men dragged her off towards the stairs, where she will be nothing more than a-...

_**BOOM...**_

The sounds of a silent smoke bomb erupting in front of the knights' faces caught them by surprise. So much so that the little girl was let go from the surprise, but was unable to move due to the sudden shock as he saw a figure dash in and-

_**SLASH! SCHLUCK!**_

-killed the both of them in a flash. Rino couldn't even catch it, with the smoke and her own tears obscuring her vision. But what she saw were the two knights falling over the wall, their necks stabbed cleanly, and into some bushes at the bottom. Wiping her own eyes, she looked around, trying to find her saviour, but she couldn't find him. All she could remember was a flash of green, but there was nobody who could have killed those knights and also wore green except...

_'No... It can't be the Shield Hero...'_ She shook her head. Her mind wasn't in the best of shape. Thankfully, she still had her own clothes, minus the hat which was blown off when the smoke bomb hit, as the girl ran back into the party, missing the Shield Hero putting away his own stick into his inventory, and ran towards the unaware Motoyasu in a fit of tears.

**.o0o.**

Naofumi shook his head in frustration as he wiped the stick clean from the blood, leaving it spotless, before looking at the mage hat in his hands. The man didn't know why he has done it. From the conversation as he leaned closer, it was all sorts of wrong in his head: the sick twisted princess selling a girl to slavery. However, this girl was from Motoyasu's team, and the Spear has done nothing but gallivant himself all across town. The paradoxical loop of helping the innocent ones out of the enemy was always a difficult subject with Naofumi, especially since many whom he had tried to help before all ended up turning against him.

But he just couldn't help it... he had to help someone like her out. She was an innocent child after all.

"Master Naofumi!"

Keel's voice broke his reverie, and he looked up while quickly tucking in the hat in his inventory. Suddenly, a pastry was stuffed into his mouth. "Mph!?"

"Try it! It's amazing!" The wolf girl urged her master, who just chewed and swallowed, his expression unchanging. "How was it?"

'_I can't taste it, like always, like a hundred years ago…'_

"Disgusting." Naofumi muttered, yet he swallowed it, just to at least soften the blow.

"Aw… But I liked it…" Keel moaned in sadness, her ears dropping down. That is, until she felt a hand rub on her head, which was when her tail began to wag. "Mmmm~ master~." She mewled out.

"Ehhh? Master…" Raphtalia, who just joined while holding a plate of food, was downtrodden at the sight. Secretly, she wanted to be petted as well. Seeing the raccoon girl lower her head, Naofumi took the opportunity to pet her as well, making her blush.

From those interactions, some of the Meltomarcian nobles began to watch and whisper, and some of them weren't pleasant.

"Is that the Shield Hero?"

"Figures he would be with demi-humans…"

"Ew! He's touching them!"

"Wait, isn't he a criminal?"

"I saw the trial, and I don't think he is…"

"But the King keeps insisting!"

Naofumi at least thanked some Gods or Goddesses out there that some nobles used their brains. It didn't matter in the long run, but at least the populace is thinking, even if it is a few…

"Master, I don't like the looks of those nobles…" Raphtalia whispered in his ears, inadvertently leaning on the man, much akin to the distance of a close hug. If things couldn't get any worse, or better in a few eyes of perceptions, another voice whispered in Naofumi's ears.

"Hey, what are you guys whispering about?" Keel asked, also leaning on Naofumi's body, her own body touching his. That's when more of the whispering began, and Naofumi had to push them off gently to stop their awkward actions.

"Okay, you two. Stop. We're in public." He told them, in a gentle voice despite being flustered. Soon, the nobles quieted down, as the King tapped his goblet with a spoon and stood up from his seat.

"Dearest guests of Melromarc," He began. "Allow me to formally welcome you all here to this celebration, to give our thanks to the three Heroes who have given their all against the second Wave of Calamity." The nobles applauded them three. Motoyasu only smiled wide and triumphant, and basked in the praise, with his party members praising him as well, although Naofumi noticed that the little green-clothed mage looked more saddened rather than proud. Other than that, Itsuki looked a little proud of himself, and Ren looked… conflicted.

"I have promised you rewards when you pushed back the Wave, and a King's promise is his word. They shall be rewarded with whatever they wish from the treasury that can aid them in their adventures." The King finished, and the many nobles applauded even harder. Naofumi rolled his eyes, knowing the King has left him out of the story in order for him to not get the credit.

Surprisingly, the Mayor began to look at his guests with confusion. The guests began to talk with themselves, wondering what was wrong. Then, the Mayor stood up. "Forgive me, Your Highness," he began, "but from what we have witnessed and heard, the Shield Hero and his party have not just helped with holding back the Wave, but he also fought the Chimera on equal level when the other three Heroes could not. That is the truth, Your Highness."

The nobles were surprised about the Shield Hero's deeds, but one of the advisors stepped up. "We can assure you that what you heard and saw were lies since, as our knights reported, you and your people were inside the mineshaft during the Wave."

The Mayor narrowed his eyes, being challenged to fight for the Hero that saved the people, but another voice stepped up. "He's right, Your Highness."

All eyes went to Étoile, the cat demi-human. The King glared at the woman, before she spoke. "Half of the knights were struggling with a huge wave of monsters, defending a carriage belonging to the Church, and we were about to lose, until the Shield Hero and his party came in the nick of time to save us."

The masses began to talk, whispering and wondering why Naofumi would save the knights. The other knights who were part of that division stepped up as well, starting a debating battle with the Mayor and his guests, against the ministers and advisors. It began to devolve to a baseless argument.

"Now how would someone like you even know he helped him out? He must have made it up to you!"

"We have witnesses for our testimonies! What more do you want!?

"You filthy liar!"

"You stuck-up!"

"Philanderer!"

"Peasants!"

'_Okay, now they're just throwing insults. Real mature...'_ Naofumi sighed, knowing that without prior knowledge, insults were the next best thing.

"SILEEEEENCE!" The King bellowed, stopping everyone in their tracks. "I will have order here, and I will not believe the lies about a criminal." With a huff, the King sat on his fancy chair, but the argument isn't over.

"Can't believe the truth when it's been said right at your face by key witnesses? Nothing new for your 'Insane-ness' right here." A voice broke the silence. All eyes turned to Naofumi, slowly walking to the center of attention. "You should believe people when they speak the truth. Doesn't do well for your image, doesn't it?"

"You don't tell me who I believe and don't believe, Hero!" The old King spat, a small bit of wine spittle landing on the table on emphasizing his words. "How were they able to witness your so-called display? Someone like you could never defeat a single balloon, much less the Wave boss!"

"All I need for proof are their words. Besides, I don't see you providing any evidence, like any wise King should be doing." Naofumi cut off. He knew the drill of this old man: he needs no evidence, but show him enough and provoke him to provide some and he'll crumble. And crumble his argument did.

"Hmph," Aultcray's frown deepened when Naofumi stopped his words. He found himself in a corner when Naofumi stepped in and goaded him into bringing physical evidence, and he cursed under his breath from his actions and words, along with his own inability to bring that evidence. "Then tell us, Shield Hero. What possessed criminal scum like you, to help save innocent lives?"

"What? You think I'm doing this for a charity? Lordship? Destiny? Friendship? Love? Virtue? Duty or honour? Hell to the no." Naofumi countered, making the others look at him oddly. If he wasn't doing it for any of those, then why is he fighting against the waves?

"Then why?" The King asked firmly. The answer Naofumi gave was with him pointing at the King, and smirked.

"Because I can."

Those three words made everybody look at each other. The main feeling around was confusion, with some anger mixed in. The King only glared at the Shield Hero and his audacity. "WHAT?!" The King yelled at Naofumi. "You did all of that, just simply because you... you can?!"

"Yes." Naofumi simply answered, "Why did I protect Lute? Because I did. Why did I kill the Chimera? Because I could. Why did I rescue your knights? It's not because I'm a hero, but simply for the reason that I did. Nothing else." Seeing everybody in a conundrum about his words, he gave a small chortle under his breath. His reasoning was actually a half-truth. He did it because technically, he was given the choice and the power to, but he also did it for other reasons. It would be on his conscious all year long if he didn't defend the people and his party. Plus, they are more useful alive than dead.

A scoff was heard in the crowd, Malty being the culprit. She looked to be angry a few minutes ago, as there was some slight redness on her face. It may have something to do with that mage girl staying close to Motoyasu and away from Malty, but that was a thought for another time. Puffing up her chest, she spoke in a shrill voice. "What am absurd reason! It's what criminal scum like you who thinks they are above the law would say."

"This again?" Naofumi crossed his arms and eyed Malty. "You had no proof other than your words before, and it's the same now. It's all noise from the bleating sheep that you are, and it isn't helping your reputation one bit."

"H-How dare you! Y-You dare insult me!?" The princess snarled at the man, but Naofumi wasn't done.

"You… YOU SCOUNDREL!" The King roared, getting up from his seat and slamming his hands on the table. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO DEFLECT YOUR CRIME!"

"Don't try to talk your way out of this one." He sharply contended. "Besides, testimony and hard evidence, A.K.A. my shield, from the previous trial confirmed that I couldn't have start the fight. Ergo, your testimony is false. And nobody likes a little Miss Liar." The Shield Hero contradicted once again, with Malty stuttering to make an argument. Many of the knights surrounding the Shield Hero bristled, but were close to drawing their weapons due to saying those words. Motoyasu, as expected, jumped in, breaking out of Rino's grasp.

"Naofumi!" He shouted, his eyes threatening to bore holes into the Shield Hero's skull. "How could you even deny a crime you've caused against this kingdom!"

"Oh I'm sooooooooo sorry, Sir Spear Hugger!" Naofumi mock-apologized, his sarcastic tone being something that Malty, Motoyasu and the King took offense to. "I should show more respect to a bratty princess that I hate. Besides... you should focus on the bigger things at hand..." At that point, Motoyasu was red and about to burst, but Naofumi pointed a finger at Motoyasu, in a lawyer-esque fashion.

"...like the crimes that YOU committed!"

The audience gasped at the audacity and the brazen accusation, courtesy of Naofumi. The masses didn't know what to think now; what sort of crimes was the Shield talking about? How could the benevolent Spear cause a crime?

"What... what are you talking about? I've been nothing but good to the people here!" Motoyasu barked at the Shield, his anger now completely replaced with disbelief, but Naofumi shook his head.

"Not all people. You're either blind, or evil to the benevolent core, Spear Hero." Naofumi argued back. "Philandering with your teammates and random strangers. Vagrancy within the inn. Actively trying to stop other Heroes from doing their duties in combating the Waves of Calamity." He listed out, partially making it up a little at the last one. He knew that Motoyasu wasn't in the way, but he simply got in the way from defeating the Chimera by not dealing the finishing blow.

"W-What?! Those crimes are complete asinine! There's no way that isn't allowed, is it?!" Motoyasu responded back, his party agreeing with him.

"That is true. The Heroes are allowed to have some leniency." The King added, narrowing his eyes towards Naofumi. "But accusing a Hero of a crime they haven't done? Not even Heroes can be allowed leniency to that."

"How droll of you to talk of leniency, your Hypocriteness..." Naofumi let out a small laugh, seeing the hypocrisy in that statement. "Then I'm sure that sending little children to slavery count as a crime on that list."

That got many of the nobles to gasp and yell at the Shield Hero for his accusation, while he just stood there smiling, albeit mockingly. Motoyasu hated that look of mockery and arrogance the Shield Hero exuded, and brought his spear closer to Naofumi's jugular. Malty looked like she could blow a casket, but the King had a look of shock. This was not what he was expecting. From the sidelines, Raphtalia and Keel looked at each other, wondering what Naofumi was on about. Why was he provoking the King and the Spear Hero?

"W-What are you talking about...?! You... you're lying! How could I be enslaving little children?!" Motoyasu rebuked, but before anybody could add to that, Naofumi continued his argument.

"Really now? Surely you can't keep deflecting your crime any further... or should I bring up your teammate Rino?" That got the Spear Hero raising an eyebrow on those words, until he noticed that Rino was hiding behind him, as if she was in a moment of dreadful realization.

"W-Wha... Rino, I'm not enslaving you, am I?" The man gripped her shoulders harshly and tried to ask her. While hesitant, she shook her head in fear, as she saw a rather angered demonic look on Malty, something that Motoyasu missed.

"N-No... but-!" Rino denied, but tried to continue in vain, as Motoyasu sharply looked back at Naofumi.

"See?! I'm not enslaving her of anything!" The man belted out, but stopped at the sight of Naofumi holding something in his hands. While everybody else was confused at the sight of the object in Naofumi's hands, Rino and Malty gasped at what they saw: it was Rino's mage hat a few splashes of blood on the rim were noticeable.

"Does this help fill in the holes, Rino?" Naofumi asked gently, making Rino shudder in tears. She didn't want to believe it, but the proof was there. The one who rescued her from those knights... was Naofumi himself.

"H-How...?" She muttered out in dead shock, connecting the pieces together.

"You yelled for help loud enough." Naofumi simply responded, before pointing at Motoyasu, who looked confused. He then began to conjure up a little lie in order to help him balance it in his favour. "But I distinctly remember that Motoyasu saw your struggling form from the window... but chose not to help you. Almost as if he was planning this from the start." That got a good reaction out of everybody, from the nobles and royalty, to the other Heroes themselves.

"N-No... You're lying! I-!" Motoyasu stammered, but couldn't come up with any defense at Naofumi's denouncement. The nobles gossiped among each other, a few of them even glaring at Motoyasu and expressing their distaste for his conduct. The King didn't even know what to believe anymore, and Itsuki and Ren looked at Motoyasu with exasperation, almost as if they expected this to happen to Motoyasu, but not to this level. The best one, Naofumi admitted, was the look on Malty. She looked as if everything fell apart for her. Shockingly, none of Motoyasu's own teammates were defending him from that statement. Partially either out of fear or shock... or perhaps there was a hint of truth in those kernels of accusations. "B-But you're using slaves as well! Aren't you gonna arrest him for that?!" Motoyasu tried to painfully defend himself, but for once, the King was speechless.

"Mine are demi-human. Nobody in Melromarc has ever had a 'human' slave before, and for good reason." Naofumi explained, letting the words seep in. Melromarc has enabled demi-human slavery as legal, but human slavery was a whole other can of worms. "Besides, we need to hear it from Rino herself, right?" He offered, letting the shocked and nervous girl take the stand.

"R-Rino... I..." Motoyasu stuttered as he knelt down to her level, scared of what her words were going to mean for him. Was Naofumi really speaking the truth? However, what he didn't know was of how scared Rino is, shaking like a leaf.

"L-Lord M-M-Motoyasu..." The girl tried to speak. "Y-You... You s-still have u-use for me...?"

"W-Wha...? O-Of course I do... I just couldn't..." The Spear was confused on what she has said, but she continued.

"I was so scared... Malty said I was useless to her... and to you...a-and t-then s-she-..." That got him surprised at those words, along with the sight of Rino flinching at the death glare of Malty. Why would the princess say those words to her? Suddenly, Rino was cut off by Malty, scared that she may have been found out.

"W-What?! How dare you make up lies about me!" The crimson-haired woman snapped at Rino, who flinched at her words. Motoyasu, in a shocking twist, stood up to her, by turning and looking at her with a hard stare.

"Enough! Nobody is a liar here!" He rebuked towards the woman, showing a surprising amount of assertion towards Malty, who widened her eyes out of that outburst. In fact, everybody else was surprised at the sight of Motoyasu talking back at his teammate.

"Wow... to think Motoyasu yelled at a woman..." Ren commented with surprise, with Itsuki nodding with that comment.

"He's right. Nobody is a liar here." Naofumi, for once, agreed on that, with the King, who was more frustrated at the situation he was in. "Because the witness never lies."

"I HEARD ENOUGH! I AM THE KING OF THIS LAND! I DEEM WHAT IS JUSTICE! NOT YOU!" The King roared out, unable to accept this farce any longer. Twice! Twice that control of the situation was taken by his most hated enemy, the Shield Hero! "I've said it once; Heroes who accuse others of false crimes are given no leniency! No longer will I allow you to let loose false accusations!" He bellowed making many others flinch, fearing and obeying his words once more over Naofumi's cold hard logic. With the King on their side, Malty felt empowered once more, while Motoyasu shook away the fact that he may have committed a heavy crime of human trafficking, and glared at Naofumi once more. Many of the guarding Knights around the banquet hall nodded to each other and began to approach and surround the Shield Hero, weapons drawn. Raphtalia and Keel readied themselves, but a quick firm hand on their shoulders told them to stand aside.

"Well, that's too bad. The accusation is real, thanks to Rino. Accept it, your Kingliness! You have no leg to stand on!" Naofumi deflected, which made the King see red. He then turned his attention to everybody else who agreed with the king's word. "And all of you! Why are you not seeing the false words that your King is spewing out?! Are you all really that blind that the king is acting out of his authority?"

"You have no authority to tell others what they have or have not done!" Malty cried out, indignant that Naofumi was wasting her time with these 'pointless' accusations, but he only glared towards the crimson-haired woman.

"Ugh! Bleat like a sheep all you want. I don't care. And you can't stop me, just like how you thought nobody can stop you from your crime of assisting the Spear Hero in human trafficking. Just like you said: you're just criminal scum who thinks they are above the law." Naofumi glowered at Malty, who flinched heavily.

"No. Unacceptable...!" The Spear Hero materialized his spear in his hands, and aimed it at Naofumi's body. If his glare could kill, Naofumi would be a pile of dust by now. "I can't accept this! Naofumi, you MUST pay for your crimes first!"

"Crimes for what exactly?" Naofumi glared back at the Spear Hero, who has been fervent for getting into the Shield Hero's way.

"Destruction, abduction, even your own slave labour!" Motoyasu rebuked out his accusations, something that Keel and Raphtalia began to narrow their eyes to. "You two, please! Come to me! We can free you!" Motoyasu begged to the girls, but they didn't budge.

"So? Slave labour towards demi-humans is allowed in Melromarc, plus Raphtalia and Keel are perfectly content, right?" Naofumi looked over his shoulder, noticing that Keel and Raphtalia are walking up with smiles on their faces.

"Of course! Master Naofumi would never hurt us! Ever since the first Wave, it was painful and we were always hungry and scared, but with Master Naofumi, we became stronger, smarter, and happier too!" Keel pumped her fist with a smile, while Raphtalia glared at Motoyasu, having choice words on the matter.

"How could you be so cruel towards Master Naofumi? You ought to be ashamed of yourself! There is no way I can accept being a free person separated from Master Naofumi! He's nothing like our previous master!" The raccoon girl argued her piece of mind, making the nobles look at each other in astonishment.

"See? That's why I love these two!" Naofumi smirked, petting the both of them briefly much to their delight.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Motoyasu gripped his spear tighter and aimed the tip at Naofumi's neck.

"Then tell me something, Motoyasu. The time when you first got here until now, did you free any slaves?" Naofumi asked, knowing the answer. Seeing the grimace, that told him his answer. "Then you're no Hero at all. Just a hypocritical dickwad, lost to his own desired sex life he'd never gotten."

"L-Lord Motoyasu..." Rino shuddered from the anger that was radiating from Motoyasu's body. She could feel just how upset and enraged he was towards Naofumi, her saviour... and at this point, she doesn't know what to feel... She wants to stay with Lord Motoyasu, as it was her dream ever since she started studying as a mage, but now? With what she has shown and with Motoyasu still not believing her, she was at a loss.

"Y-YOU-!" Motoyasu roared, definitely hitting a lot of sore spots, before composing himself. "Fine. I challenge you, Naofumi, to a duel!"

The crowd was silent at that proposal, while Naofumi smirked. "A duel to the death then?"

"I will not allow it, Spear Hero." Aultcray warned Motoyasu. "As much as I wish for it, we cannot risk losing the Spear Hero to death's throes."

"But you can clearly risk the Shield Hero. I don't see the reason why I can't forgo the risk of losing the Spear Hero." Naofumi countered. That got many of the nobles angry, especially the royalty and specific nobles with those necklaces with the three Cardinal weapons on them.

"As I have said, Shield Hero, we cannot risk-!"

"I've heard you the first time, your Idiotness. Wait until the real Heroes of the land finish speaking." The King fumed at those words, but Naofumi ignore him and dive straight to the dueling wager. "So what's your wager?" He proposed to Motoyasu.

"The release of your slaves, and admittance to your crimes!" The Spear said his piece. The King had to think about it for a little bit. Seeing that the Shield is known to be a harmless block that the Spear Hero can easily throw aside, Aultcray began to see the merit of the Spear Hero's proposal of a duel. The king nodded, finally looking composed for the first time, and raised both of his hands.

"Then it shall be recognized as an official duel. Do both parties agree?" The King asked to Motoyasu and, to his disdain, Naofumi. Motoyasu nodded and glared at the Shield Hero, while the other side…

"Heh."

"What's so funny?" Motoyasu asked warily.

"You really think I'm content with what you're waging? Why should I waste my time with happy slaps?" Naofumi cynically groused, with Malty growling back.

"Then we will simply arrest you! You can't defy the King!" Malty condemned, with Aultcray nodding.

"Well said, my daughter." The King replied, with the princess beaming at her father.

"Typical. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Naofumi shook his head in disgust. "So what do I get if I win? Already you made the formal preparations of the duel, despite me not giving my wager."

"Then what's your wager, Shield Hero?" The King demanded, narrowing his eyes at the supposed criminal, but Naofumi challenged it with a smirk.

"Hmph. I could have the King executed if I win." Naofumi proposed so offhandedly, that the audience literally gasped.

"WHAT?!" The King felt like his breath stopped midway.

"Ooooor…" Naofumi drawled out. "I could have Princess Malty executed if your place if I am victorious."

Again, another gasp, but this time, not as loud. Malty went pale in the face, while the King felt like he was going to pop a blood vessel.

"Ooooooooooor…" The man pointed at Motoyasu himself, who looks shocked. "_You can pay for your crimes... in the afterlife, wretched Spear Hero._"

The tone shifted as the atmosphere grew cold and dread made the spines of many guests shiver. It was like a tone spoken from a man sentencing you to death. Everybody was taken aback by the tonal shift of the Shield Hero's voice. Ren and Itsuki took a step back from the jarring tone. Their parties doubly so. The knights felt like they were treading on the edge of death. Malty felt like she couldn't breathe. Rino went pale at the sight. King Aultcray has the urge to vomit from the overwhelming feeling death. Even Raphtalia, Keel and Ake felt like Naofumi was a stranger.

A _terrifying_ stranger who would kill anyone without remorse.

"Nah."

That feeling dissipated as everybody felt their breaths returning. That sheer feeling of killer intent was strong, and it nearly made Motoyasu regret his decision to do. Then Naofumi finally got his wager.

"If you plan to take someone precious from me, how about I wager to do the same thing back?" Naofumi smirked, and then pointed at one of Motoyasu's party members.

All eyes traveled to Rino, still shocked and scared from what she has witnessed. "If I win, I take Rino." Naofumi offered his wager, causing the girl to scream internally, close to having a heart attack. The Shield Hero then turned his head to the sputtering old man on the throne. "Hey, your Beardliness, the wager's confirmed. We having the duel now or what?"

"Urk!" The King grimaced, still reeling a little from the killer intent. "S-Spear Hero! At least rest before-!"

"I'm sorry, your Highness." Motoyasu apologized to the King, before he readied his spear. "But I accept Naofumi's wager! He's only got a Shield and a worthless stick! He won't win!" The King saw how sincere the Spear Hero was, and nodded as well.

"Very well! The duel between the Shield Hero and the Spear Hero is now official, and is happening in the arena right this instant. Guards, please escort these fine guests to the podiums and stands, and also guide these ladies to the arena as well, where they can show support for their heroes." The King announced in the most formal tone he could muster. Soon, everyone began to file out to the doorway, with Naofumi gripping his gloved hands. Raphtalia and Keel looked at him with worried eyes, but Naofumi just smiled.

"Sorry. For not getting your input on this, but it was for the better." Naofumi apologized, doing his best to keep happy for them. "I know this isn't what you wanted but…"

"It's alright. I understand, Master." Raphtalia replied, forgiving her master so easily. "You… you didn't have a choice, and about you fighting for us… it's flattering and… and sweet."

"O-Oh…"

"Yeah! Wish I can kick that Limp Spear Head's ass… but you doing it is just as good, if not better!" Keel added, patting Naofumi in the back. "But..."

"But what?"

"What was that? With the whole thing with the Spear Hero?"

"You mean what I said to him as my wager?" Naofumi clarified, unsurprised that she would be asking about it. Seeing her nod, he simply answered this: "Just speaking from the heart. That's all."

"O-Oh..." The young wolf woman nodded, before smiling wide at the prospect of seeing her master battle. "Break his legs!"

"Keel! No!" Raphtalia scolded.

"It's fine, Raphtalia." Naofumi have a small chuckle, as he began to walk to the arena. There, the two of them missed Naofumi's last words.

"_I'll do more than just break his legs…"_

* * *

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN RE-EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS MINOR EDITING IN PROGRESS HERE FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! I wasn't proud of the first edit.**

* * *

**Oh boy this one was a doozy.**

**Yes, I intentionally made Naofumi into a savage dick who thinks he can do anything. Because technically, he CAN do anything. This iteration made Naofumi into a knowledgable man who can have the tendancy to be sick of everybody's damn shit. This is evident on the King as well, because Naofumi doesn't respect him at all. And the King and Malty can't do anything to the man, because of his status as a Shield Hero. He knows they won't touch him, so he can prod on how far he can go with these people, before he has reached a breaking point.**

**Yes, breaking canon here. **

**Yes, new girl is Rino, the girl from Volume 4 (I think), who got dealt with a shitty hand, from a combination of Motoyasu's naivety, and Malty's sheer villainous actions. It's so easy to hate her. So, per one reviewer's request, I shall save her.**

**Yes, Naofumi has a grudge, not just on Motoyasu, but on Spear Heroes in general. He likes Red though, just a little.**

**Yes, Etoile is Eclair's adopted sister. The reason I added this OC is for two reasons. One, a reason and a role model for Ake to join the Juvenile Knights. Two, More in-depth coverage on Seaetto's family line. Apparently, the father defended Demi-humans, and then was killed by Raphtalia's previous master. Or something like that.**

**No, in terms of the Curse series, Naofumi is not getting Wrath. At least, not now, or during the duel.**

**Yes, the way the Mayor and the others saw Naofumi kill the Chimera and the monsters is through the use of the Linkshell.**

**Yes, _Machinist has won!_ BUUUUUT that doesn't mean I'm neglecting Holy Knight. You'll just see Holy Knight much later. If you know how Machinists and Engineers work in Final Fantasy COUGHEDGARCOUGHTOOLSCOUGH then you'll know how it works.**

**No, I didn't want Stalagmite to hit Motoyasu's sphincter... yet.**

**No, the Vice-Captain isn't dead.**

**No, I've never heard of a Retribution class (keeping with something familiar with all readers), but it sounds like some sort of Demonhunter class with a mix of Dark Knight and Occultist. And I like to keep things separate.**

**No, Holy Knight won't make any sorts of controversy. Just like how the Dark Knight isn't a sort of demon.**

**Now then... tell me what sort of classes you want in this fic. I will give you choices on the next one:**

**_Summoner, caller of elementals and sacred beasts to assist in battle._**

_**Samurai, disciplined by the blade, for all you need is one swing.**_


	11. Chapter 11: Sides Declared

**********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS MINOR EDITING IN PROGRESS HERE FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**********

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_The world never knew what happened after that day. The Shield Hero disappeared, and the entirety of the town he lived in was wiped clean off the face of the earth, as if it never existed. There weren't any survivors of the town that once populated it, nor were their friends or acquaintances. All that was left was a large crater, with no life ever able to surface on their grounds ever again._

_The rumours and gossip on that land was never proven confirmed: the Shield destroying the town out of pure hatred, or perhaps he was betrayed. Maybe a weapon he was developing went horribly wrong, or perhaps he was attacked. The latter theory was thought to be the closest... but nevertheless, the mourning for the Hero was great. Greater than anyone could have ever predicted._

_\- Exerpt from the "The Footsteps of the Cardinal Shield Hero." Final Volume_

* * *

The footsteps of the Shield Hero's greaves echo in the hallways of the dark as he walked into the arena. His mind was empty, his heart clear of everything, and yet his darkest memories replayed over and over. There was a reason he quashed and suppressed them years ago, as it felt like the darkness within continued to warp his perceptions.

"_You… you aren't serious, are you? You're… you're willing to kill me? Aren't you?!"_

That panicked voice came from behind him, but he didn't pay attention to it. It was a voice that was long past.

"_Leave them alone…! Please, they did nothing! It was my fault, I swear!"_

The Shield Hero gripped his hand, the crinkling sounds of his gauntlets echoing in the darkness.

"_T-They were right about you…! No one should have that much power! Damn you to hell, Naofumi!"_

Naofumi's muscles tensed up, his urge to kill rising. Shaking his head, he needed to get his head in the game. "You stay in there..." Naofumi told himself, gripping his own chest, before looking forward. Taking a breath, he entered the arena.

He was met with not a lot of fanfare, the only ones coming from the Lute Village Mayor and guests. The first thing he saw was Motoyasu in the arena, his hands gripping the lance of his tightly, as if his life was on the line for this fight. Beside him was Malty, the horrid bitch princess, frowning up a storm. On the left was where Raphtalia, Keel and the frightened Rino from Motoyasu's party stood. Two of them were slightly worried yet awfully calm, and the last one was completely scared for her life.

"L-L-L-Lord M-Motoyasuuuu…" She bemoaned, shaking like a leaf, fearing that she may be separated from her party and her idol. Raphtalia and Keel could only glance at her with pity. After what happened, and now knowing that the girl was close to getting kidnapped for slavery, they couldn't really hate her at all. But what could they do? They were also surrounded by soldiers, armed to the teeth, and that easily set off red flags in their minds.

There were guards on the opposite side of the arena as well, and yet Ake, his demi-human companion and the Vice-Captain were nowhere to be seen. That also set off red flags. Where did he go?

Nobles were beginning to sit down, high in the rosters, along with the commoners and guests standing at the side. On the front, the King and his ministers watched with eyes like they were gods from above, something that Naofumi felt bothered by. Ren and Itsuki were up there, observing the duel with neutral expressions. Something within Naofumi made him curious about their input on the situation, but it also angered them more.

"This is a momentous duel between the Spear Hero and the Sword Hero! One shall lose by admitting defeat, or is unable to fight any more! Interference from any third party or outside attacks will count for disqualification." The King announces the rules, which was good enough for the both of them, but the look he gave to Naofumi made it obvious he wasn't going to let him win so easily and fairly.

Motoyasu smirked at Naofumi, swinging his spear around to woo the audience, possibly to show how confident he was. It only served to make him seem more arrogant. "We both know what the outcome is. It doesn't matter what skills or spells you have. You're gonna get overpowered, that's what's going to happen!" That line made the nobles cheer and jeer his opponent.

Naofumi didn't say anything back, but that smug attitude and tone of Motoyasu was clearly bugging him. The awaiting satisfaction to beat his face was making him excited.

"Now, begin!" The King declared and, almost immediately, the Spear Hero leapt into the air and charged.

"**Lightning Spear!**" His weapon crackled with electricity as it collided with Naofumi, who didn't do a thing. A small explosion occurred, with many cheering that he won, until the smoke cleared, and all of their hopes were shattered.

"Weak." Naofumi mocked with a smirk, the shield in a different form as it blocked the attack so effortlessly. His shield was dark and glowed purple, with a scaled dragon head in the front.

_**Dark Dragon Shield**_

**+48 Defense, +30 INT, WIS and LUK**

**Thunder Eater (****Restores the user's health instead of taking damage if the ability or skill was thunder-based)**

**Thunder Boost 3 (Boosts all thunder damage by 15%)**

Motoyasu gasped at the result, before Naofumi changed to **Assassin**, weaving around the spear and hooking him with his 'hook sword'. "Guaaugh!" He screamed in pain, as a gash from his left shoulder began to bleed out a little, causing some small damage over time. "Hurts, doesn't it?" Naofumi taunted the man, before pulling, the hook dragging Motoyasu and throwing him across the floor. The man grunted, but rolled out of the way when Naofumi stabbed the floor with his **Fencer**'s rapier. Many of the nobles thought it was initially going to be an easy victory, but to see Naofumi use a stick of all things to fight back and even hurt Motoyasu was mind-boggling. "Don't run now! Where's your pride, Spear Hero?!" The Shield Hero taunted the Spear, dodging his spear strikes and slashing at the man where he was open. While they were shallow cuts, they began to slow him down.

"Rrrrrgh! Stand still!" Motoyasu struggled to stand up perfectly, as his spear charged up once more. "**Chaos Spear!**" His spear lighting up to let loose a rapid succession of thrusts, but Naofumi's shield transformed into the **Cerberus** **Shield **in time, taking all of the attacks on the dog-based shield.

"Yes! Go, Lord Motoyasu! Take him do-!" Malty cheered, as did the rest of the nobles, but soon turned into confusion. The hits that were meant to land on Naofumi were expertly blocked by the **Cerberus Shield.** However, what damage Motoyasu was inflicting on Naofumi was now slowly being inflicted on the Spear Hero himself due to the **Sharp Steel** passive redirecting damage back at the Spear Hero. Soon, Naofumi realized that the man was slowly down tremendously, so he gripped the Legendary Spear with his hand, with Motoyasu too weak to pull back hard enough.

"How weak... How pathetic!" Naofumi denounced to Motoyasu, who slammed the shield on Motoyasu's face. While his attack is close to zero, it wouldn't do any amount of damage, but it would leave pain and imprints on the man. Spinning around and winding his shield once more, he bashed Motoyasu in the face hard, sending him sprawling, but it didn't end there. Grabbing him on the arms, he landed a few more punches on vulnerable areas like the head and the sides of his armor with kicks, before giving him a hard shoulder throw onto the ground.

Many of the nobles cringed at the painful sound, seeing their delightful Spear Hero being taken down like a chump was painful to even watch or conceive. Malty shuddered in anger, not expecting this to happen in the slightest, as her arms were dangerously close to going on the arena and strangling the Shield Hero herself, if she could. The woman couldn't do anything that would expose her cheating, but her daddy was always there to cover for her.

The King, on the other hand, gritted his teeth hard at the impossibility from what he was witnessing. He seethed that the Shield Hero had so much power under his belt, that he was causing so much turmoil for what he represented, and for the anarchy he causes within his castle. His ministers, and the others in power right beside them, were also shocked at the show of brutality, but one particular man glowered at the dishonourable way the Shield was fighting. The other two Heroes, Ren and Itsuki, watched on, surprised by the power that he was displaying, but for some reason, it felt like it came as no surprise.

" Urrgghh..." The Spear Hero struggled to even look straight as he was on his knees, using his own Spear to hoist himself up. Naofumi only looked at him, shaking his head with disappointment.

"This is the power of the Spear Hero? Compared to the others, you hit like a bag of shit." The Shield Hero ridiculed, causing the Spear Hero to glower hard at the Shield Hero's taunting that his strength returned for one more attack.

"Damn you…! I'll break you for that!" Motoyasu roared as his spear engulfed in flames for his strongest attack, but Naofumi was expecting this. "Haaaaah! **Flaming Thrust!**" Motoyasu let loose, his spear engulfing in flames in the shape of a burning phoenix, and thrust at Naofumi's head.

Another explosion of dust was created, and as soon as it dissipated, Naofumi was blocking it without any effort, with a dark shield with a red flaming aura and a lion's face and mane on the front.

_**Dark Lion Shield**_

****+48 Defense, +30 STR, VIT and INT  
****

**Fire Eater (****Restores the user's health instead of taking damage if the ability or skill was fire-based)**

**Fire Boost 3 (Boosts fire damage by 15%)**

"How droll... Come on, this is a duel, not playtime." He continued to taunt, only aggravating Motoyasu further, but he couldn't do anything. The handsome body of his felt like it was made of lead. Naofumi needed to take the offensive, and pulled on Motoyasu's Legendary Spear, causing Motoyasu to stumble forward. "**Shield Bash!**" The man smashed his shield across Motoyasu's face, making him stunned and unable to move from the sudden impact. The crowd gasped at the skill, with Motoyasu now a sitting duck.

"The farce ends here!" Naofumi swapped to **Assassin**, gripped his stick, and began to dash around Motoyasu, hacking and slashing the man. Blood and cuts appeared on the man's body, as Motoyasu screamed in pain despite being in pain. It was like a dance with a bloody fuller, blooming beautifully and deadly at the same time. By the time Motoyasu recovered from his stunned state, he was already covered in so many cuts, and suffering from multiple **Bleeding** stacks that damage over time, that he fell onto his knees once more.

"Aaaugh…! Urrgh!" Motoyasu shuddered in horrid pain. Just breathing and moving made him cringe and flinch from excruciating stings. He tried to fight it by trying to lift his Spear, which was still in his hands, but the multiple stings of pain made him kneel over, with Naofumi's 'hook' around his throat.

"Don't move, lest you want to bleed out." Naofumi warned. Motoyasu gritted his teeth, flinching from the pain again.

"Damnit…! Naofumi…!" Motoyasu tried to speak, even though it was a struggle. "You…! How are you… so strong…? Could the Shield… Hero... really…?"

"Hmph. Wouldn't you like to know?" Naofumi chortled quietly, so only Motoyasu could hear, then adopted a hateful look. "But you should know this: I always hated what you stood for, Spear Hero."

"R-Right... back at you..." Motoyasu spat back, but Naofumi shook his head.

"Not you in particular. What you stood for." Naofumi reiterated, making Motoyasu raise an eyebrow. "You even got the same angry look on your face..."

"W-Wha…?" Motoyasu was confused at what Naofumi was saying. This dark menacing glare from Naofumi's eyes felt like he was staring into the abyss.

"You're not _him_, but this will be enough to stain what he has done...!" A dark smile stretched across Naofumi's face. "I can make you feel a piece of that pain I felt when you killed her!"

"K-Killed... who...?" Motoyasu had no idea what he was talking about, but it didn't matter to Naofumi anymore.

"_**HAHAHAHA! That takes care of that damn woman! Now for the Shield Hero! Find him and burn him!"**_

Naofumi swapped to **Magus** immediately, and began to channel a spell.

"_**Aaaaaugh! Stop! It hurts! Please! Stoooooooo-aaaaaauuugghhhhh!"**_

His eyes began to twitch with hatred, seeing Motoyasu's pleading face, ignoring the calls for the match to end.

"_**Cuuuurse youuuuu! Demon Shiiiiieeeeeeld!"**_

He pumped more mana into the spell, swapping to his **Cerberus Shield** to make it **Triplecast**.

"_**Does it grieve you, Naofumi, to see the deep depths of your own weaknesses laid bare?**__"_

The image of a naked woman, with brown hair, a dead look in her eyes, with blood, bruises and cuts, along with a spear, a sword and arrows stabbed all around her… to see her mutilated and maimed like this...

"_**I'll… always… love… you…"**_

**.o0o.**

The nobles flinched from the flurry of cuts that Naofumi performed, and they began to worry about their favoured hero. The King did not find this favourable, while Itsuki and Ren were mostly intrigued.

'_What does that fighting style remind me of? He looks to be swapping around with... something...' _Itsuki asked himself.

'_That flash of light… he switches his battle tactics with each flash… That is something seriously impressive. Motoyasu wouldn't be able to stand a chance…!' _Ren concluded with his analysis on Naofumi's stances, like his poise for **Fencer**, and his more rugged acrobatics for **Assassin**.

The princess and her cronies weren't the happiest with the current outcome. Rino only shivered, seeing the inevitable outcome of her leaving Motoyasu, and it was worrying Raphtalia and Keel.

"Are you okay?" Raphtalia asked, concerned for the girl, who only gulped and looked down.

"D-Don't look at me…" The child muttered, but Keel pushes forward.

"Hey, no need to be sad! Our master will surely help you! Besides, if what he said was true, then rescuing you from him is for your own safety!" Keel smiled wide, but that didn't reassure things.

"N-No… It's just… I-I just don't believe it... Lord M-Motoyasu would never..." Her eyes began to leak tears, almost like she was scared. Keel tried to go closer to the girl, but it seemed to make her retreat into her shell. Raphtalia gently forced Keel back.

"Just what?" The raccoon girl gently asked. The girl was quiet for a few seconds, before she spoke up.

"T-The Princess Myne…" She began, pointing to Malty and her two friends. "She told me… that I was no use to L-Lord Motoyasu… and that he's selling me off..."

"What…? How could he say such a…?" Keel began, feeling sorry for the girl, while growling at a human's disregard towards another human. Both Demi-Humans glared at the trio… before she and Raphtalia widened their eyes.

**.o0o.**

"**Winds that chill the bones, come out and let thy forgotten truths ring justly, and freeze my enemies into naught! Triplecast-!"**

Right before he cast the spell, he heard two voices.

"MASTER NAOFUMI!"

His dark thoughts completely dispelled, Naofumi quickly turned around, and saw a bright ball of wind coming at him. "**REFLECT!**" He shouted, a green barrier of light forming just in the nick of time, blocking the spell and reflecting it back to the users.

"Ahhh!" The three girls shouted, before being knocked into the wall, creating a slight indent and cracks on it, before they fell into a slump. From the sight of the spell, mayhem began to erupt from the crowds. The nobles were split between seeing Naofumi blast the princess and her two friends and Naofumi defending himself against an interference. The guests of Lute being the most angriest, seeing that there was interference by the princess, and yet the ministers and the advisors were trying to deny it. Motoyasu looked stunned and confused as to why the match suddenly stopped, as he saw Naofumi block what looks like a bright light.

As for the three girls, Raphtalia couldn't believe someone like Malty would do such a thing. Keel wanted to bash their brains out. But the mage girl had the face of betrayal, not believing what she has seen.

"Tsk…! That hurt…!" One of Malty's cronies bemoaned, as the three of them got up, and then cornered by two glowering Demi-humans.

"What's the big idea, using that spell onto Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia snapped at them, with Malty scoffing at her.

"What are you talking about, you dirty demi-human? I did no such thing!" Malty deflected, which made Keel snarl.

"You…! Don't lie to us! We saw you do it!" Kewl growled at them, but one of the cronies grimaced by her race getting close to her.

"Ew! Get away you dirty mutt! Who would ever believe you!?" One of Malty's cronies gagged from Keel's close proximity. Things were starting to escalate, before the King stood up.

"SILEEENCE!" He shouted a second time tonight, the arguments dying down. "It is clear the Shield Hero has indeed cast a spell and attacked an innocent bystander on the sidelines, much less a member from the Spear Hero's party. Therefore, he shall be disqualified!" Before any more arguments could erupt, another voice spoke up.

"Your Highness, surely you witnessed the interference. The spell that Malty and her two friends performed." Itsuki spoke up, walking to the edge. That made a lot of eyes widen. His eyes watched like a hawk at Myne. "Itsuki and I have been watching the match really closely, and we noticed the spell clearly coming from her and her two friends, intent to aim it onto the Shield Hero's back."

"What are you talking about? I clearly did no such thing!" Malty continued to deny in an indignant fashion, despite all the eye-witnesses. Naofumi thought it made her more pathetic. Ren, the other third-party observer, narrowed his eyes.

"Don't try to talk your way out of this!" The Sword Hero retorted. "Your lies may work on the King, but not on us. What we see aren't lies. It would have clearly given Motoyasu an advantage if that spell landed, and that would have fallen within your reasoning to interfere. Therefore, in line with the rules, I believe Motoyasu should be disqualified for interference from his party members." That generated a lot of reactions, most of them surprise and shock from the nobles.

'_He totally stole that first line from me…'_ Naofumi thought, but smirked at that thought. Secretly, he was quite happy about the Bow Hero and Sword Hero, and he gained a little bit more respect for them both. _'Just a little though…' _

The audience was in disbelief from that proclamation. Even the King kept sputtering with rage, to the point of turning red. But the worst was Motoyasu, who was completely confused.

"W-Wha….?!" He stuttered, the **Bleeding** debuff wearing off, unable to comprehend that Malty did in fact attack Naofumi, and made him lose the duel. "N-N-Naofumi…! This has to be a trick! Myne would never-!"

"Motoyasu." Naofumi began, looking at him with cold eyes. "That's enough. Just accept what has happened. For once, gaze upon the truth given to you." That was more than enough to shut him up and contemplate. "To think, a duel of the ages was completely soiled on by the Princess of Melromarc. How tragic." That made Malty grit her teeth hard, her rage nearing the levels of the apocalypse.

"Y-YOU FIEND!" The King shouted indignantly. "HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ROYALTY OF INTERFERING WITH YOUR 'SACRED DUEL'!"

"I just did, Your Blindliness." His words made him sputter, but Naofumi kept talking. "But, since you asked nicely, then we can ask a fourth party to be the tie-breaker." His eyes trailed to the green-clothed mage, who shook like a leaf. The other eyes followed towards her, the last party member of Motoyasu's.

"R-Rino?" Motoyasu looked at her with shock. How did he forget about her?

"A-Ah! L-Lord M-Motoyasu…" The mage makes Rino stuttered, before Naofumi spoke again.

"Rino, let me ask you this. Who cast the spell? Me? Or Malty?" He asked gently, pointing to himself and Malty for indication, despite the latter wanting to bite off his finger.

"You…! Don't you dare say anything!" The Princess growled, and that made her stomp towards her, but Naofumi wasn't having it.

"**Wall!**"

Invisible walls appeared out of thin air, preventing Malty from being given passage against them. "W-What?!" The villainous woman cried out in shock. The King sputtered out and was about to call the guards, but the death glare and the black aura made him freeze.

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you_." Naofumi hissed at the man he calls himself King. It was the same aura that Naofumi had that threatened to kill Motoyasu in the duel. Everybody felt the pressuring killer intent, even the heroes, who shook slightly in their boots, but it disappeared just as fast as it appeared. Turning back to Rino, Naofumi calmly knelt down to the girl and repeated his question. "Now, Rino, I'll ask again. Who was the one that cast the wind spell?"

Everybody was silent for the answer they were awaiting. Some leaned forward, wanting to hear every word, while others couldn't take it due to the tension and backed away. While there were some that knew the answer, it was Rino that decided the fate of the duel

"I… I…" She stuttered, her mind unable to choose as there were just so many on the stake for her choice.

"_He only picked you because he allowed it."_

"_You'll always be a groupie. Don't ever forget that."_

"_You heard me. Neither Lord Motoyasu nor I have any use for you anymore."_

To choose the Shield Hero, stay with Lord Motoyasu and the horrid princess that may or may not force her out in the future? Or choose Princess Malty, forced to stay with the Shield Hero, away from Lord Motoyasu? She began to feel light-headed, her hands shaking, her whole body shaking. There were just so many factors to choose, but then the small voice in her heart told her.

"_Do what you think is right!"_

The voice said with the utmost confidence. _'Just like Lord Motoyasu…'_ She thought to herself. _'Forgive me, my Lord, but I cannot stand for this injustice…!' _Her shaky hand rose, pointing at the culprit, which made most gasp.

"W-Wha…? Me?"

"I-I'm sorry, L-Lord Motoyasu..."

Rino has her hand pointing at Malty and her cronies. "It was P-Princess Malty, Lesti and Elena who cast the spell."

"Y-You…! There must be some mistake! There's no way she could-."

"The tiebreaker doesn't lie, Princess." Naofumi glared at the woman, still trying to deny it. "Even your King can't stop it now."

"N-No way… Malty, why?" Motoyasu's voice broke, looking at the struggling Malty, ignoring her apocalyptic rage. For once, his resolve broke at the sight of the woman in front of him, smoldering in rage. How could she do this... Why would she do this?! But before she could make another pathetic excuse, Rino began to lose strength in her legs. Panting and lightheaded, she fell to the ground. "RINO!" Motoyasu called out, running to her side.

"L-Lord Motoyasu…" She breathed out. "I-I'm sorry… I was just so scared…" Rino cried out tears as she leaned onto the Spear Hero.

"Hush, Rino… it's my fault. I ignored you like I did my own party members, because I was being selfish…" Motoyasu apologized. At this point, he felt like trash, not like a hero, that he caused this much pain to this young girl. How could he call himself a hero now if he couldn't save anybody?

"No… it's okay, my lord… I was scared… The Princess… She… she threatened me…"

"W-What…?"

"She wanted me out of the party… and-."

"NOOO!" Malty screamed, interrupting the two of them, slamming her arms at the **Walls**. If word got out of what she said, then her reputation would take a plummet. The King knew this too, and with a snap of the fingers as his signal, knights suddenly ran down to the arena, surrounding the two heroes, Raphtalia, Keel and Rino, and drew their swords.

"Master!" Raphtalia and Keel drew their weapons and stood by his side, close to Motoyasu and Rino, who stood up beside him.

"W-What gives!?" Motoyasu snapped at the knights. He thought that they were really friendly guys, but now there was no mistaking that they were after him. Both Naofumi and Motoyasu then noticed a crest dangling from each of the knights, where it had a sword pointing to the south, a spear tip to the north, a bow stretched to the east and west, as a crest on the back, along with what looks like a red jewel in the centre.

"Well well... those symbols again... What could they mean?" Naofumi muttered to himself, eyeing the knights and then glaring at the king.

"My knights! Capture the Shield Hero! Don't let him escape!" The King ordered, with the knights charging towards them all at once, only to hit invisible **Walls**.

"Tsk, figures. He wasn't going to honour the deal after all." Naofumi growled to himself, arms outstretched, with Motoyasu turning his head to look at Naofumi with surprise.

"What?! That's just wrong! There's no honour in that!" Motoyasu snarled, feeling betrayed at the worst moment. He caught sight of Malty, Lesti and Elena, his past party members, glaring at him, which only confirms what Naofumi was saying. "No way, so it is true…! DAMMIT!" He cursed out loud, acknowledging what he has done in a defeated tone, holding the frightened Rino close. "Naofumi, I'm…"

"Say that when we get out of here!" Naofumi barked back, holding the knights back as much as he could. The glass **Walls** shattered, and the knights came tumbling, until-!

"**Arrow Storm!"**

"**Hundred Swords!"**

Suddenly, arrows and shockwaves rained down, demolishing the knights. Itsuki and Ren then jumped down to meet the others, assuming their battle stances.

"What the…! Bow Hero! Sword Hero! Have you two gone mad!?" King Aultcray bellowed angrily, gripping the stone ledge with rage. "This has nothing to do with you two, or the Spear Hero! The Shield Hero is the one I am arresting!

"This isn't what you agreed on, Your Highness!" Itsuki snapped at the King. "Why are you backing out from this?! There's no honour, justice nor a reason for this arrest!"

Ren also added his two cents. "Stop this now, Your Highness! If you do this to Naofumi, then you'll have to fight all four of us!"

Motoyasu got his drive back, a second wind slowly helping his body recover, as he gripped his spear, ready to defend the girl who has freed him from his own lethargy towards what was truly right. "You can take back your rewards! Not if it means hurting other people!"

The nobles gasped at the declaration, while some of the more pious ones grew angry from this. Naofumi, hearing all of this, felt a twinge of nostalgia and happiness from that, but he shook his head.

"To think you would do this, your Foolishness." Naofumi lectured, shaking his head. "What would happen if the Heroes you illegally summoned fought back against you? That just might _spark a war,_ you know, religion be damned."

Immediately, those words were filling many Melromarc citizens with dread, the King especially. Flashbacks on the last one in his home country began to reappear, but before they can be dwelled upon...

"FOR THE SHIELD HEROOOOOOOO!"

A voice screamed in command, as more knights have come, but are combating the King's knights. "W-WHAT?! REBELS?" The King stammered, startled by the rogue knights' appearances, who were trying to approach the throne.

"Nowhere to run, Aultcray!" The knight, whom he recognized as the old Vice-Captain, raised his sword, but another knight, the Captain, blocked his way. The two of them butt heads as they fought.

"You will die for this, you traitor!"

"This is for all the men you tried to kill!"

'_Don't know what is happening, but n__ow's my chance!' _ Naofumi saw the bedlam that these rogue knights were causing. Nobles trying to run away, screaming while the other knights were fighting each other. He didn't know what was going on, but it was now or never. He began to channel, something that wasn't missed from Raphtalia, Keel and the others.

"**O ewers borne of salt and brine! You are my sword! You are my rain! Let thy crashing waves cleanse the sins of my enemies! Triplecast Flash Flood!**

From above, three light appeared above the Heroes, before a flood of water poured down, instantly pushing away the knights in the arena, as well as washing away the others to the edges. Raphtalia and Keel held onto the stalwart Naofumi, who held his ground against the flood.

"Let's go!" He commanded to Raphtalia and Keel, and began to run for the exit, but not before running to the washed up Motoyasu and Rino.

"Bleehhh… Naofumi, what the hell were you-!?" Motoyasu tried to ask, trying to stand up with Rino, but Naofumi took the girl out of Motoyasu's weakened arms. "H-Hey! That's-!" The Spear cried out, before the pain made him cringe heavily.

"Lord Motoyasu!" Rino cried out, too weak to get out of Naofumi's clutches.

"Sorry, Motoyasu. But a wager is a wager." Naofumi informed him, giving Motoyasu a **Quickheal**. "Maybe when we meet next time, you can take her back."

"We promise to treat her nicely." Raphtalia added, bowing politely.

"Yeah, and she might get stronger too!" Keel added further.

"Naofumi, what… what the hell?" He sputtered, only to see Naofumi and his party to the exit of the arena. He slowly got up, trying to stand on two legs, as he heard a scream.

"T-TRAITORS! LET GO OF MEEE!" Malty screeched, as the traitorous knights tried to kidnap Malty and her friends, only to have some of the other knights battling the captors out. Motoyasu looked at the struggling girls and, for once, aimed his spear at them.

"No more running..."

* * *

************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS MINOR EDITING IN PROGRESS HERE FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!************

* * *

**Again, this one was a doozy, mainly because canon was broken. Hope you guys are happy about it**

**Yes, Naofumi has a huge grudge against Motoyasu, or rather, the position of the Spear Hero. Hmm, maybe the Spear Hero did something to him long ago?**

**No, Naofumi wasn't trying to make friends with Motoyasu. It's most likely he won't be getting Rino back, but maybe that can change.**

**Yes, now that Motoyasu is alone, he's probably gonna go through a metamorphosis. Being alone, and once being part of Malty's schemes would do that.**

**Yes, I didn't have a lot of things for Ren and Itsuki to do sadly. Don't kill me please.**

**Yes, the Church of the Three Heroes were secretly ready to deal with the Heroes there, but the rebels came in on time. Who are the Rebels? A faction from the Vice-Captain's division who were displeased from the arrogant Captain and the King and their orders during the Wave, and they ran and disrupted things for the Shield Hero to escape. Who made the Rebels? Who knows~?**

**Yes, _Summoner has won!_ Don't worry, Samurai will come later (much later, sadly). So first Machinist will come, and then Summoner will come after!**

**Yes, I hope you were satisfied with Malty's defeat as well.**

**Now, before I end this, there are things I will need to point out: There are going to be class upgrades available for Level 40. If you want to suggest any classes, and class branching upgrades, then go right ahead. For example:**

_**Assassin Job Upgrade Branch: Ninja, a fearsome close-combat and physical threat that hides in the shadows and kills his targets, or Shadow, an evasive man of dread, able to use poisons and shadow magic to do his bidding.**_

**Another you can suggest for is Class Fusion: two classes fuse into one, adopting both their stats, skills and weaponry.**

_**Class Fusion with Dark Knight and Holy Knight: Sword Saint, a master of the sword arts, able to wield skills that can bridge the light, the dark and even the divine together.**_

**So suggestions ahoy! Here are the classes you can suggest and discuss and branch with!**

**Assassin**

**Cleric**

**Magus**

**Alchemist**

**Machinist**

**Summoner**

**Swordsman**

**Warrior**

**Knight**

**Brawler**


	12. Chapter 12: Rebellion

************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS MINOR EDITING IN PROGRESS HERE FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!************

**Just to let you know, I had Final Fantasy 8's "Never Look Back" on, while I wrote this. Makes fitting chase music.**

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_Rebellion was a term coined by the Wild Rose, the rebel faction of Melromarc. Opposed to the cruel and oppressive ways of the XXVIIIth queen of Melromarc and inspired by the movements and opposition of the brilliant and taciturn Shield Hero, the men and women declared their loyalty to themselves, their promises and fealty sworn to the freedom that they wish to create for themselves and any soul who joins their cause. While they were confident that they were hidden from the world, away from the Queen's eyes, they communicated their words towards the Shield Hero, wishing to aid him in his just cause._

_But one snag kept them from fulfilling their duty to aid the Shield Hero: the Queen's eyes never left them. In fact, her cruelty knew no bounds, as she silently watched them, manipulated them from the shadows, and when the Shield Hero tried to aid them, they were forced to turn against him in the climax of the fighting. A harsh twist of fate in the story of the Wild Rose._

_\- "___Annals of the Kingdom of Melromarc: Siltvelt War Era_." Volume 1_

* * *

The civil rebellion took hold within the castle and arena interiors, with many nobles running away from the rioting, and out of the castle. A few of them were slain, but more were hurt, while the rest of them were unharmed. Many of the traitorous soldiers kept fighting each other, in order to either purge, or kill as many as they can. Deep within the fighting, a faction of soldiers were also defending the Mayor and the guests from being slain as they try to make their escape.

"Hyah!" Ake slashed a soldier he once considered a bully years ago. The slash made a deep cut across the shoulder, and then his body got blown back by being hit by Ake's shield. "Dad! You doing okay?"

"Son... What is going on? Why are the knights...?" The Mayor tried to ask, but Ake shook his head, guilty of keeping his father in the dark. He hated doing that to his dad, for he was his only family left.

"I'm sorry, Dad... But some of the knights couldn't take the ruling of King Aultcray anymore... So the Vice-Captain... and the Shield Hero..." He tried his best to explain, as the rebels cleared out most of the loyal knights towards the crown. The Mayor had a look of clarity, understanding what his son meant, from what Ake told him about the trial, to what he has witnessed in terms of blatant unfairness towards the Shield Hero. Sure, he now understood why this was done, but wasn't creating an insurrection going a little overboard?

"R-Right... but what about the Shield Hero?" The Mayor tried to reason, before the knights began to rush towards the exit.

"We're going to get you out of here! Then we will help the Shield Hero!" Ake bravely replied to his father, but it caused his attention to divert, which made him nearly a sitting duck towards a knight ready to behead him...

"**Onslaught!**"

If not for Étoile rushing in, shoulder tackling the man in the head and launching him towards the wall painfully. The Mayor breathed a sigh of relief as Ake smiled towards his feline comrade. "Thank you, Étoile. Are we doing okay?"

"No, we're not! The gate's closed! We can't get through!" Étoile maintained, pointing to the gates locked up. A whole mess of Juvenile knights were blocking the front gate, since it was the easiest way out.

"What?! Damn! How are we gonna get out this time?!" Ake cursed, backing up with the rebel knights, blocking arrows and parrying other attacks along the way.

"Get in touch with the Shield Hero with that Linkshell thing! See if he can make a way to escape!" Étoile demanded, swinging her axe in a cyclone, knocking and slicing other knights away with her sheer might. Ake nodded, before pulling it out and channeling a small amount of mana to pull up Naofumi's screen.

"Naofumi! Are you there?!" He began on the Linkshell.

"_Ake, is that you?" _Naofumi's voice was heard, which made the young teen smile. Yet he sounded a little irritated from the riot that is going on right now.

"Loud and clear! But we can't hold our position anymore! We're clearly outnumbered!" Ake reported as the phalanx formation the rebels made began to crack. "We need your help to make a way to escape!"

"_What?! __Firstly, w__hat the hell?! __I wasn't the one who thought of this crackpot scheme of rebellion! "_ Naofumi shouted over the Linkshell. That actually confounded Ake.

"H-Huh?! But I thought-!"

_"We'll talk later about it! Secondly, if you want to escape, gather as much of your men and make it towards the Eastern Tower!"_

"W-What!? The Eastern Tower!? But there's nowhere to go from there!"

"_Trust me. __Bring them to the base of the far Eastern tower! I'll do a __**Mass Return**__ on them to get you all to safety!" _

"M-Mass Return?"

"_Look, just get over there! I'll meet you there!"_ The call ended.

"Damn…! Squad 3! Citizens! To the Eastern Tower base!" Ake ordered, and the remaining knights and guests complied, hoping to find their other comrades in the ruckus.

**.o0o.**

"Master, why the Eastern Tower? Isn't that all the way to the other side of the castle?"

"Yeah. We need to do our part, and rescue them, no matter how completely and utterly goddamn troubling it all is…"

Naofumi groaned from blocking the next sword swings while Raphtalia and Keel kept going forward, overpowering the opposition. In his hands was the scared Rino, looking away from all the beatings, bludgeonings and potential bloodshed. Guess he couldn't blame her; she's just a kid.

"**Quickheal!**" Naofumi chanted, the healing light spell quickly healing his slaves' cuts and wounds. "We need to get going!" He told them, and they nodded. They were about to jet out of there, until he felt Rino struggle.

"Nnngh! Let go of me…!" The girl struggled in his arms, trying to wiggle out. Naofumi only tightened his grip, not enough to hurt her, but enough to make her stop.

"Kid! Why are you trying so hard to escape? We're in the middle of battle!" Naofumi chastised, but the girl shook her head fiercely and continued to struggle.

"No! I need to be with Lord Motoyasu!" She whined, hitting the sides of Naofumi with her tiny fists. Naofumi felt like he was dealing with a child… until he realized.

'_Oh wait, she is a child…'_

"Ugh, wasting time! Keel, Raphtalia!" He called for them, grimacing from arguing with a child. The two stood in attention as they finished clearing the room's knights, as Naofumi's arm outstretched, an unfamiliar spell began to be woven on his fingers.

"**The glow in the deep-rooted hearts of man, axis of all power! My powers are yours to command! Aura!"**

Two powerful lights from Naofumi's hand traveled to Raphtalia and Keel, as their all-around stats tripled, while his own mana dropped tremendously.

**Raphtalia; Swordmaiden Lv. 27**

**[Cerberus Slayer] ****Occasionally cause bleeding to the opponent.**

_**Do I have something in my teeth?**_

**HP: 6600  
**

**MP: 5150  
**

**Attack: 625  
**

**Defense: 515**

**Speed: 540**

**STR: 450**

**VIT: 405  
**

**DEX: 380  
**

**INT: 360  
**

**WIS: 381  
**

**LUK: 402**

**Keel ; Brawler Lv. 27**

**[Cerberus Slayer] ****Occasionally cause bleeding to the opponent.**

_**Do I have something in my teeth?**_

**HP: 6300**

**MP: 4750  
**

**Attack: 595  
**

**Defense: 490**

**Speed: 570**

**STR: 428**

**VIT: 390**

**DEX: 475**

**INT: 351  
**

**WIS: 390  
**

**LUK: 402**

"Go nuts. Make sure to gather those revolutionaries, along with Ake and his companions, and get them to the wall." He ordered, and Raphtalia and Keel nodded, dashing out of the room with super speed. Golden afterimages of their bodies were left on their trail before disappearing. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he can feel his mana drained to nil now, so he cannot use any magic. Turning his head towards the shaken girl, he wanted to drill some sense into her. "Now for you… why are you so hesitant on trusting me? Did you forget that I saved your sorry butt from becoming a slave?"

"B-But you have slaves too! An-And slave owners use slaves to hurt people... and do mean and terrible things to them…! You may have saved me, but you having slaves is no better than the slave owners who tried to get me...!" Rino shuddered in Naofumi's grasp, which only made him sigh, understanding the situation a lot more now.

"Yes, that's true. But let me tell you something about my slaves." Naofumi began to explain, in a serious tone. "Compared to other slave owners who laugh at their slaves' pain, I use them, because I need their help to punish bad people."

"Huh…? Wha...?" The innocent girl asked, legitimately confused at that revelation.

"Yes. Have you ever heard of the Shield Hero being able to attack on his own?" Naofumi confirmed, then asked back, giving a small reassuring smile. The girl looked positively befuddled by the question, before she answered truthfully.

"N-No… but why take me? I-I just wanted to be with Lord Motoyasu…" The girl pleaded. Naofumi gave a small sigh. The girl's dedication to him remains unbound, and yet he can't blame her entirely.

"Well, if you stayed, then you would have had to contend with Malty and her cronies, who wanted you to leave. So I think that's fair." The man reasoned, making her shiver. Gently letting the girl down onto her legs, he looked at her with serious, almost fatherly eyes. "Listen, kid. I took you, so that way you can be safe with me for the time being."

"For the time being? You mean…?" The girl's eyes lightened up.

"Yes, I'll give you back to the Spear Hero, but on two conditions. One, Motoyasu has to pick himself up from Malty's betrayal. He's gotta learn how to support himself now. Two, you need to learn how to stand up for yourself, and learn to stand beside him, not behind him." Naofumi explained further, making the girl contemplate on his words.

"Stand… beside him?" She repeated, with Naofumi nodding.

"You know, not being a groupie or a cheerleader, but actually helping him on his level. But in order to do that, you need to get stronger, and I can help you. So join my party and trust me. Alright, kid?" The man finally requested, holding out his hand.

The girl thought for a moment, weighing her options, and finally took his hand and accepted his party invite.

"I accept."

"Good answer."

**Rino Magicka; Magus Lv. 7**

**[Child Prodigy: Magic] All experience increased by 15%. Elemental spell damage deals an additional 25% to enemies that are weak to that element.**

_**The future can be how I make it to be, with a simple snap!**_

**HP: 350**

**MP: 1175**

**Attack: 9**

**Defense: 4**

**Speed: 17**

**STR: 15  
**

**VIT: 8**

**DEX: 30  
**

**INT: 75  
**

**WIS: 65  
**

**LUK: 50**

"Wow, you're magically strong for someone so young." The man complimented, leaving out that she only had intellect and no strength or constitution. She was only a little girl for her age anyway. What did amaze him even more, was her Wisdom stat. Normally, healers would use that stat to measure how much they heal their teammates, but she was a magus, not a priest...

"Ah… thank you." The girl shyly accepted the compliment as both of them began to run to the Eastern Tower, while the man selects his new job class on the Job Wheel.

**.o0o.**

"Wow, remember when I said that these guys are pathetic before?" Keel commented as she slowly walked up to the frightened soldiers, her glowing golden aura radiating off from her. "They're SUPER pathetic now!"

"Keel, don't toy with them." Raphtalia scolded her as she swung her sword at ten men, and it blasted them away without any effort. On the sidelines, Ake, Étoile and the rest of the rescued platoons were off huddled to the sidelines, scared of the power they were radiating.

"W-What is that kind of power?" One of the revolutionaries stuttered in fear.

"N-No idea, but they were able to defeat all of them so easily…!" Another one replied, trembling in fear.

"T-These were your companions?" Étoile asked, hiding behind Ake's shield. The man didn't respond, but he hid behind the shield with her, and nodded.

"Alright alright, fine, Raphie. After all..." Keel smirked as she approached them. Her eyes twinkled as she cracked her knuckles menacingly, preparing to strike. "**I can't kick their asses unless I come closer.**" That made the Juvenile soldiers scream.

And then the aura suddenly dissipated and her stats returned to normal.

"...Eh?"

"W-Wait, her power-up is gone?" One of the enemy soldiers noticed, and then all of the soldiers looked at each other. "IT'S DOWN! GET HER NOWWW!" The platoons charged at her, clearly angry and peeved at the wolfgirl, who was once flaunting her buff. However, that was short lived when Raphtalia blew them back with a **Sonic Wave**. As they hit the floor, Keel could only sheepishly laugh at herself.

"Hehehehe… sorry..."

"Ugh… Keel…" Raphtalia facepalmed herself, as more kept going in, trying to outnumber them. The battle ensued, with the rebels, Raphtalia and Keel trying to push them back, but now it was them who were being pushed back.

"This isn't looking good!" Étoile stammered, holding three knights back with her axe. The others backed away slowly to the encroaching enemy platoons, until footsteps approached from behind.

"Behind!" One of the rebels alerted, and a few of them turned their heads, expecting enemy reinforcements…

...only to see a green cloaked Hero with a shield, along with a mage girl on his shoulders.

"**Grenade!**"

A small little metal sphere fired from the back door, over the rebels' heads and into the centre of the crowd of Melromarc knights.

_**BOOM!**_

"AAIIEEE!" Many of them were blown back from the explosion of the grenade. The rebels turned their heads, and realized that came from the Shield Hero, in his new job, and the girl he has gotten from the arena wager. His hand held the stick not as a blade or a want, but as a firearm.

**Naofumi Iwatani; Machinist Lv 26**

**[Bane of Melromarc] Notorious in Melromarc territory, 15% damage boost dealt all Melromarcian citizens and pets, 15% damage reduction against all other citizens and monsters from other cities.**

_**The dark within the heart of Melromarc!**_

**HP: 2700**

**MP: 1350  
**

**Attack: 92  
**

**Defense: 86**

**Speed: 135**

**STR: 84  
**

**VIT: 80  
**

**DEX: 110  
**

**INT: 100  
**

**WIS: 89**

**LUK: 95**

"Now, kid!" The Shield Hero called out, as he jumped over the rebels, giving her a clear shot at a magic spell.

"**I command the origin of the wind; decipher the laws and create ****glades of emerald hues! Blow my enemies away with the power of nature! Zweite Turbulence!**"

Blades of wind erupted from her staff, forming into a ball, and it launched towards the floor, blowing back the soldiers using excessive wind power. "Hey! Don't leave us out! Rebels, charge!" Étoile commanded, as the other allied knights began to break through their stalemate, and attack back. Ake blocked various sword swings and healing those that were hurt. Étoile gripped her axe tight, before slamming it on the ground, creating a shockwave that blew away and hurt the enemies a group at a time. Raphtalia slashing through the knights one by one, while Keel was watching her back, doing the same with punching the knights through their armour.

"Kill them all! Don't let the traitors escape!" One of the captains roared, but Naofumi wasn't going to let them have their way. As the knights charged, his stick began to transform, taking the shape of an electrical spark emitter with twin prongs, along with a battery pack.

"**Wild Charge!**" He cried out, zapping the charging knights in a wide cone. The enemy convulsed and screamed in pain, as the metal armour made the electricity travel all over their bodies. They flopped to the ground, leaving a few soldiers left and the captain himself.

"C-Curse you…! Shield Demon!" The captain screamed, and charged at the man. Naofumi just smirked as his spark emitter transformed into back into a 'gun' stick, and shot the man in the head before he could reach him.

"Shield Demon? That's new…" The Hero smirked as the Captain fell over, dead. He then noticed the crest around his neck. _'That Church's insignia again. Is that why they call me Shield Demon? What could they be after?'_

"Master!" Raphtalia and Keel both cried out and hugged their master. Rino nearly toppled off of Naofumi's shoulders, but held on with Naofumi's hands holding her.

"Hey, easy!" Naofumi stammered, before he pried them off. "Okay, kid, you can get off now." Naofumi urged the girl to get off his shoulders.

"Ah okay." The girl complied, climbing down, as Raphtalia and Keel sheepishly backed off from their master. "Um... are you two are the Shield Hero's slaves?"

"Yep! Keel's the name and that's Raphtalia!" Keel energetically pointed to herself, and then pointed to the pouting Raphtalia. "We're Master Naofumi's slaves!"

"Keel! I could introduce myself, thank you!" Raphtalia snapped at Keel, before bowing to Rino. "So sorry. As Keel said before, I am Raphtalia. I hope we haven't scared you." The raccoon girl politely introduced again.

Rino didn't know what to think. Seeing the two Demi-humans so happy and carefree compared to what she has seen and heard about… it made her confused to all hell.

"How…?" Rino muttered.

"How what?" Naofumi asked, with the two animal girls listening in.

"H-How are you so happy with being a slave?!" The girl blurted out, immediately making the trio step back in shock. Thinking that the girl said something that offended them, she cowered back, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Kid… Rino…" Naofumi addressed her name, having these eyes that demanded attention. "Remember what I said? Most masters treat slaves worse than dirt, but do you see them unhappy and hungry?" The Shield Hero reminded.

"Yeah! We're stronger, healthier and happier with Naofumi, compared to our last master…" Keel enthusiastically added, although the enthusiasm died near the end at the thought of their previous master.

"Our last master barely fed us, and used us for his… entertainment…" Raphtalia shuddered, but a comforting hand from Naofumi calmed her down. "Ever since Master Naofumi rescued us, he treated us with care, like we were… actual people." Raphtalia blushed a little from the thought.

"I… I didn't know that…" Rino muttered, feeling quite guilty from that thought process.

"It's fine. I get that a lot." Naofumi's words made Rino feel comforted, but now there was no time to waste.

Suddenly, the doors from the other side slammed open, making everybody's heads turn. Standing at the opposite door entrance was someone everybody knew.

"Lord Motoyasu!" Rino cried out, but was shocked as he made no reaction. He only stood there with a blank expression, which was setting Naofumi's alarm bells off.

"Wait! Rino!" He held the girl back, not liking the situation one bit. The girl was going to protest, until knights came up right behind him, along with a familiar clack of heels.

"Well well, we caught you red handed, Shield Hero."

'_That voice… couldn't even stay away, can you?'_ Naofumi snarled in his thoughts, catching sight of what was making him mad.

"P-P-Pr-Princess Malty…!" Rino fearfully stepped back, as the princess's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Ugh… You should have listened to me. If you just pointed to that damn Shield instead of me, you would have been safe. But now you're a criminal, just like the Shield." The Princess hissed out, spitting out the Shield's name. Rino flinched from that, but she retorted with the bit of courage she had.

"B-But you would have s-sold me to be a slave!" Rino retorted, but the bitch scoffed.

"That still means you'll be safe, but just as a slave, brat." Malty smirked, seeing the pale reaction from the girl's face satisfying, but Naofumi put a hand between them.

"Better to be a criminal than a loser. At least she accomplishes things in life. Everybody now knows just how much of a rotten, spoiled bitch you really are." Naofumi retorted in Rino's place, smirked upon seeing Malty's smirk transform into a heated sneer. "I wonder what your mother would think, seeing a trashy flashy whore causing Melromarc's citizens a whole bunch of trouble. No wonder you have no claims to the throne."

The Princess's sneer dipped further into an angry scowl. "You…! How dare you say that to the future queen!" She snarled, as the blank-staring Motoyasu summoned his weapon and pointed it at Naofumi. Footsteps were heard behind the rebels, with more knights appearing from behind.

"More of them?!" Étoile shouted, her rebels getting ready to combat them.

"You guys handle the knights! I got Princess Bitch and Motoyasu!" Naofumi called out to the others, before arming himself with his stick. "Come on!" Using **Taunt** on the both of them, he charged towards the pair. Motoyasu clashes his spear with Naofumi's 'rapier' stick, while Malty channeled a spell, aimed directly at her object of hatred.

"**I am the queen who commands the origin of power. I have read and deciphered a law of nature. Rain flames upon my enemies! Zweite Fire Squall!**" Summoning 10 squall-sized birds made of blazing fire, they all began to fly towards Naofumi and Motoyasu. Knowing that she doesn't care whether or not the spell hits Motoyasu to the floor as collateral or not, Naofumi kicked the Spear Hero on the stomach, forcing him away, and then swapped to the **Dark Lion Shield**, eating the flames up.

Swapping to **Machinist**, his 'gun' transformed into an automatic crossbow, and began rapid firing sprays of bolts to Malty, but Motoyasu dashed between them and spun his spear like a helicopter, blocking most of the spray of bolts. Only a few landed on Motoyasu, but he didn't even flinch.

Malty laughed haughtily from the defences "Yes, my Spear slave! Kill that Shield Demon!" She commanded, as both Naofumi, back to **Fencer**, and the blank-faced Motoyasu clashed into a stalemate once again.

"Tsk, so you brainwashed the man, to do your bidding? That's a new kind of low!" The Shield chastised her, but the princess only smirked.

"Hmph! If only this idiot Spear Hero won against you, then it wouldn't have been any problems at all. He would have been perfect, with me as Queen, and him under my thumb and you dead in the dirt!" She explained without any fear, as if everybody in the kingdom should know. Naofumi had to suppress his hatred towards this insufferable girl. Deep within, those words resonated with him negatively, as his own mouth twisted into a harsh frown.

"Then go ahead and be Queen of your own mud. Leave us out of it." Naofumi snarled, kicking back Motoyasu in order to swap safely back to **Machinist**. "**Chainsaw!**" His 'gun' once again transformed into a grinding chainsaw, and slashed Motoyasu's chest, making him cough blood.

"Cmon, wake up, damned Spear!" Naofumi growled, watching as the man fell to the ground, bleeding. He then looked up to Malty, who suddenly had reinforcements in the form of priests and mages, wearing those same religious crests around their necks. But before he could approach them, a voice caught his attention.

"DON'T YOU MOVE, SHIELD HERO!"

Turning his head slightly, his eyes caught a sight that made him freeze. It was a frightened Rino, held at swordpoint by a knight. He too had a crest around his neck.

"Rino!" Naofumi called out in worry.

"Lord Naofumi!" Rino cried out, struggling to get out of her captive's grasp, but the pious man held firm.

"You move or attack, and she dies!" The knight that held Rino hostage laughed at Naofumi's shocked face. The Hero only gritted his teeth, but he wasn't out of options yet. Behind him, the mages were about to fire spells while he was distracted and held up, while the priests were healing the devastating wound on Motoyasu as much as they could.

"Tsk! Coward…!" Naofumi snarled under his breath, while the knight laughed again. The spells landed on Naofumi on the body, as he couldn't try to raise his shield, lest it meant that Rino would die because of that. While he did get damaged by them heavily, some of them were fire based, so they healed him. _'It can still hurt though…'_

"HAH! As long as we win, then it doesn't matter what methods we use!" The knight guffawed, but then noticed the glint in Naofumi's eyes.

"Then two can play at that game! **Air Strike Shield!**" He cried out his new **Shield Hero** skill, which conjured a large green shieldright behind Malty, making her falter.

"Wha…?" Malty uttered, before she was pulled to Naofumi, kicking and screaming. "Stop! UNHAND MEE!" She screamed in pain as the spells landed on her. "NOO! STOP YOUR SPELLS!" The mages looked at each other, distressed now that the Princess is held captive as a living shield.

"Y-You monster!" The knight shouted angrily. "You dare use the princess as a shield?!" The knight's hands shook violently, almost ready to plunge his sword inside the girl's body.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Naofumi coolly warmed the knight, the Bitch now wrapped in a headlock. "You move, and I will kill her." Pulling the same move as the knight himself, the mages and priests gasped, while the knight shook with rage. Rino also looked horrified, but Naofumi looked at her and winked, mouthing his words to her.

'_Trust me.'_

"N-No…! That's barbaric! Tyrannical! What sort of Hero would kill, especially a Shield Hero?!" Malty screeched, but Naofumi's grip squeezed even harder around her head..

"Y-You…! How dare you do this to a man of God like me!" The knight roared in anger.

"Then do it. I'm sure with Malty's death, King Aultcray would lock you up, torture you, flay you, cut off your arms and legs, and make you beg for death." Naofumi theorized with a dark smile. "After all, 'as long as we win, then it doesn't matter what methods we use'. So go on. I'm waiting for your 'method'." The man goaded the knight, who was shaking with indecisive rage.

"Y-You...! Don't you dare!" Malty, for once, agreed with Naofumi. "Daddy will make your life a living hell if he kills me!" She managed to say, before Naofumi blocked her mouth again. That made the knight scared and hesitant for once, his God unable to help him.

"B-But… a man of God…H-He-!"

Suddenly, the man screamed in pain, as a sword came out of his chest, courtesy of Raphtalia. The raccoon girl had a lot of soldiers to take down, so it took a while before she could reach and help Rino and Master Naofumi.

"God has no eyes on chattel like you." Naofumi offhandedly say to man, as he laid their dead. Swapping to **Machinist** once more, he threw Malty back and aimed a megaphone towards the group of magic casters plus Malty and Motoyasu.

"**Noise Blaster!"** Naofumi called out his skill. The megaphone fired out a high-powered shockwave of visible sound, blasting many of the mages through the walls of the castle. Motoyasu was also affected, for just as he was about to stand up, he was blasted into the wall, falling unconscious.

Malty got up from the blast, and indignantly shout, but no words were coming out of her mouth. It was quite funny to Naofumi, seeing her realize she can't talk made her so much more tolerable.

"**Silenced**, Bitch." Naofumi smirked, and planted his foot right at her face hard, knocking her out for good. The last of the knights were finished off, and the rebels cheered for victory. That felt satisfying.

"L-Lord Naofumi!" Rino cried out from behind Naofumi, who turned around. He was then greeted by a **Quickheal**, courtesy of the small mage, on where he was struck. "Let me heal you…"

"O-Oh. Thanks." Naofumi muttered. He really didn't need any healing, thanks to his innate healing regeneration as a **Shield Hero**, but something actually caught his eye. "You know both **Magus** magic and **Cleric** healing?

"Y-Yes, why?" Rino replied, wondering what made the Shield Hero ask that.

"It's just… nobody's ever take both paths." Naofumi smirked at that. _'I guess that's what the Wisdom stat was for... Pretty handy, I gotta say.__'_ Finally, the entire platoon of revolutionaries, along with the Lute guests, all ran out of the keep and out of the castle, towards the courtyard of the Eastern Tower. Soon, they reached a courtyard area, with a large wall and a big beaming tower with a locked door.

"There they are!" The sounds of knights running towards them were behind them, as the rebels ran to the walls.

"Oh no! There's nowhere to go!" One of the guests panicked, making the others panic as well.

"Alright, Naofumi! Whatever you got, you better make this quick!" Étoile hollered out, the rebels stepping back to the wall. The knights and mages of Melromarc were closing in. Naofumi knew she was right. He had to make it quick.

Chugging a mana potion, he began his own incantation. A large magic circle encompassed the entire rebel faction and the Lute citizens they were protecting, swirling around like a magickal hurricane. The rebel knights and citizens watched in wonder as the circle became complete, glowing with power. Étoile couldn't believe her eyes, asking herself just how powerful was Naofumi. Ake wondered where it was going to take them. Keel and Raphtalia held onto their master, but he pushed them into the circle with his elbows.

"Huh?! W-Wait, Master Naofumi!" They both cried out, but the winds were becoming too strong. The girls had to shield their eyes,

'_Sorry, you guys. But the caster had to stay behind…'_ Naofumi apologized, and began his chants.

"**My soul cries out! The celestials and avatars of time and space, bend to my will! For the way to the edge of the world shall lay open for all! Mass Return!"**

The giant glyph spun and spun, making the floor beneath bright and white as the sun. The rebels and slaves shielded their eyes from the light, many of them crying and screaming for Naofumi. And then it exploded. A pillar of light engulfed them all up, piercing the night skies and tearing the clouds away.

And just as it appeared, it vanished leaving no trace of the rebels except three fainted figures: Rino, Motoyasu and Naofumi.

"W-Wait… what happened to the rest of them…?" One of the knights asked.

"Was that… a teleportation spell?" The other wondered out loud. Then suddenly, clapping was heard behind the knights.

"Praise be! You knights have done it!" A gentle voice congratulated and praised the knights, with them bowing to the source. A couple of them faltered from the sudden surprise and the shock of taking the Shield Hero down.

"Your Holiness!" The knights bowed to the old priest walking through the wall. The man had grey hair and square classes, giving him an old but regal cheeriness. He wore a tall religious crown and a white and gold religious robe, beaming wide as he walked to the knights. He is known as the High Priest of the Three Heroes Church, Biscas T. Balamus, also going by the Pope of Melromarc as well.

"Now then, why don't you bring the Shield Demon himself here?" The Pope asked the knights, who saluted and hauled the unconscious Shield Hero, Rino, and Motoyasu. As they were brought forth, the priest had a grisly smile on his face. "Finally, all of the work and prayers we have done, all the tributes and sacrifices we have pulled, and it was all worth it, in the name of God! Finally, we can exorcise the demon right here, for he shall trouble us no more!" The Pope giddily rejoiced, almost in a twisted manner. It did not reflect the demeanour and first impressions many would have on the Pope initially. "Now, in His watchful eyes shall the Demon be exorcised from this world forever!"

"Wait." A voice interjected, and many heads turned to the owner, except for the Pope, who knew who it was.

"Hm? What could be so important that you would halt the Holy execution, King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII?" Biscus wondered, as the strangely unharmed aged king and the Captain of the Juvenile Knights walked up to him. Before, the Vice-Captain and a faction of rebel knights stormed up to fight him and the Captain, but by the look of his robe, he looked to have no sign of a struggle or an ambush on him.

"You promised us that _we_ would be the ones who would execute the Shield, not you, Your Holiness." Aultcray calmly asserted. "After all, once made public, your voice and religious beliefs would be heard throughout Melromarc and the entire world with ease. Wasn't that what we agreed upon?"

"Oh?" The Pope drawled out, then began to laugh, like he wasn't threatened at all by the King. "You must have misheard."

"Wha-?" Suddenly the sounds of a drawn sword and a pulled bow were behind them. The Pope kept his gentle smile at the sight.

"The deal was that our knights and I would help rid the Shield Hero, his brainwashed followers, and his willing slaves, in exchange for having a seat for me in your governing monarchy. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you, your wife, or your daughters Malty or Melty by the hands of the Bow Hero and Sword Hero, would you?" The Pope warned, with the brainwashed Sword Hero and Bow Hero holding them at point blank range.

"Grr! Y-You…!" The King growled, but kept that rage in. From that point, there was nothing he could do. "We will speak of this later..." He grumbled, before turning around and marching back to their chambers.

"Now then… Hm… let's start with the girl first." The Pope looked at the girl's limp unconscious body. "She must be the granddaughter of the magic shop owner. Knights."

"Yes, Your Holiness?" Four of them saluted.

"Brand the girl as a slave, and tell the grandmother that her daughter has been unfortunately slain, then burn the woman and her house down." The Pope ordered. "A witch who studies the dark arts must not live, as she herself is a sin upon God."

"Yes, Your Holiness!" The knights responded diligently, picking up the girl by the arms and torso. Satisfied, the Pope turned to Motoyasu still laying limp.

"Now, to bring you back into my servitude, Spear Hero. One as sinful and vagrant as you can be corrected, and thy shall become-."

_**SNAP!**_

The sound of something breaking in two caught the Pope's ears. Shifting his head, he spots the knights carrying Rino, but one of them was holding… the snapped off arm.

"O-Oops! F-Forgive me! I must have pulled too… hard…" The knight apologized, before he realized what he was holding.

It was a stick, in the shape of a hand.

"W-What?" The Pope spluttered out, his kind demeanour broken. Suddenly a puff of smoke enveloped the broken girl, into a wooden decoy with a green hat and a green cloak.

"A-A decoy?" The knight gasped, with the Pope not looking too happy. Then suddenly, another puff of smoke appeared, and the Pope's head turned so fast, it would have snapped.

Motoyasu was never there. Instead, there was a wooden decoy, with a mop of horse hair.

"W-WHAT?!" The Pope couldn't believe what he was seeing; his captives were actually fakes. The man grabbed the hair of Naofumi… only for the head to rip off.

It was just a sack of black hair, glued onto a bag of animal poop, which all fell onto the Pope's robes. The bag had the picture of a middle finger, and one big word written underneath it that made the Pope lose his cool and scream indignantly.

**LOSER**

"CUUUUUUUUURSE YOUUUUUUU, SHIIIIIIIIEEEEELD DEEEEEEEMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"

* * *

**************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS MINOR EDITING IN PROGRESS HERE FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**************

* * *

**I was planning to end this one with just the Shield Hero fainting, to give you all suspense. But you all would have hated me for it.**

**Yes, Naofumi is a bit of a troll, and the Pope is a dick. Plus, a deal has been going on between him and the king, which is probably the reason why the religion lasted for a century.**

**Yes, Motoyasu and Rino are left behind. They are going to have their own downtime with Naofumi, along with introducing new characters.**

**Yes, the Pope is kind of more evil than the King. That doesn't mean the King is a good guy though, that bastard's a pretty difficult war hawk.**

**Yes, Mass Return is a very high-leveled spell. It takes a lot of MP to cast.**

**Yes, Rino can cast destructive spells as a magus AND cast healing spells as a cleric. Try to put those two and two together.**

**Yes, what Keel said to the knights was a reference to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. I do not watch it. I do not know much of their memes. Don't ask me any requests about them please.  
**


	13. Chapter 13: Sleeping Dogs

******THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!******

**You know, I'm pretty proud of the skill lines that Naofumi or other mages say before he casts spells or skills. **

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_The Tyrantress's immense magic power and its origin was a mystery to many. The truth that has been said to many, its outer shell made up of lies and deceit, was that she has been born with those powers. While the previous king and queen loved her with all of their hearts, the power and talent, along with being integrated into a country that practiced magic, she never considered them, or anybody in Melromarc, family. Only tools of destruction for her to use for conquest and total domination._

_Despite being the despot the people know her to be, her magical talent is still revered and feared among the populace and her victims. So much so, that Melromarc still uses her magic (albeit in a much lower power level) to this day. Her favourite one revolves around hypnosis: inserting a piece of her mind within the victims she so desires, making them act, think, and bend to her own destructive ways and methods._

_\- "___Annals of the Kingdom of Melromarc: Siltvelt War Era_." Volume 2_

* * *

"_Naofumi, what… what the hell?"_

_Motoyasu just froze in place as he saw the gang leave with his party member into the dark tunnel leading to the towers. Rino left the party, as part of the deal before the match, but it still felt like a piece of him just broke off of him. The man just stared emptily as his spear even fell from his hands into the shallow water._

_For once in his life, he was confused._

"_**I always hated what you stood for, Spear Hero. **__**You even got the same angry look on your face..."**_

"_T-TRAITORS! LET GO OF MEEE!"_

"_H-Huh?! M-Malty?" Motoyasu heard the redhead woman scream from being in a rough stranglehold by the knights. She kept kicking and flailing around, unable to accept what has happened, almost like a madwoman. The man wanted to reach out to the woman who is still his party member, but then Naofumi's voice came back with a vengeance._

**_"_****_You're not _him_, but this will be enough to stain what he has done...!"_**

_'S-Stain...? What have I done? I haven't-!'_

"_**I can make you feel a piece of that pain I felt when you killed her!"**_

_He doesn't remember anything about killing an innocent woman or girl, but… something within Motoyasu resonated. His hand lowered, and his gaze glazed over, almost as if there was something deep within his heart running right into his brain, making him remember something he clearly did not do. But a strangled voice kept screaming deep within.  
_

**.o0o.**

"_**Are you telling me that all of this was… was from Naofumi?"**_

"_**Impossible! I refuse to believe it! Stop lying, and tell me the truth!"**_

"_**NAOFUMI! I can't believe it! You lied to me about who you really are! Have you gone mad?! I'll bring you to justice myself!"**_

"_**Impossible… No, have I been foolish the entire time? To kill an innocent woman, even worse, she was pregnant! How… What possessed us to kill his wife?"**_

"_**No… Naofumi…! What… That shield…! That dark power…! Is this… what true despair is like…? Is this… what we have caused you, Naofumi? Oh god… What have we done…?"**_

**.o0o.**

_Those memories felt so real, yet it also felt like it wasn't his at the same time. His hands shook at the feeling of Naofumi… the image of his stare and dark aura felt oppressive, yet familiar. Like he made a terrible mistake in the past... The final line made him feel like he was seeing the abyss… and it felt like he entered it. Never has he felt so much of that… that… despair… _

_Shaking his head, the man gripped his spear, knowing what must be done. Even if it betrayed everything he has learnt up until this point, he knew this was the right thing to do. He grabbed his spear, and fought against the knights that were in the area. Skewering one on the back, while slashing apart another like a polearm, the man was like a driven force to be reckoned. Some of the traitorous knights looked on with surprise; the Spear Hero helping their cause. Perhaps it was the charisma of the Shield Hero that made him see differently. The Sword and Bow Hero were also impressed at Motoyasu fighting back, and so viciously too._

_Suddenly, a bright light blasted the entire arena, making the knights and rebels go haywire, almost as if their bodies are convulsing. The princess looked to be unaffected, but Ren, Itsuki, and even himself began to feel its effects. In fact, the light began to block out his emotions and thoughts and even his will, making him feel… empty, much like a husk._

"_**MELROMARC! HEROES! LET YOUR SOULS BE SAVED AND PURIFIED!"**__ A voice commanded from above. The fighting began to cease, as the knights and rebels became still, like terra cotta soldiers. Itsuki lost his will completely first, his body standing still like a statue. Ren came next as his eyes blanked out and his body was not his own. One by one, the knights halted and became drones, shells of the humans they once were. Motoyasu kept trying to struggle, as his eyes tried to look at the light, defying it in every way._

_Whoever the man was, shining the light, he could tell that he was smiling. Maniacally or welcoming, he didn't know. But it was sapping away his strength, to the point where he could no longer hold on. He tried to reach out to somebody, ANYBODY for help, like Ren, Itsuki, the knights, even Malty and her friends, but nobody moved. It was the first time he felt helpless as a hero, and soon he fell…_

_**PFFFGHUFUGHFFUHBUHHGBFJBGBFUGHU…!**_

**.o0o.**

"**...BBFBFPPPFYBYFBYFBYFBHFHBHFHBHFBWAAAAHH!"** The man screamed and struggled, realizing he was breathing in water. Suddenly, the man backed up out of the surface, gasping for air, spitting and coughing out the bitter waters from his throat. "BLEHHHH! Pweehhhh! What the…?!" The man looked around frantically, wondering why he was face first inside sewer water.

"L-Lord Naofumi! That was horrible of you to do!"

"Horrible, but necessary. See? Drowning him was the best way to wake him up."

The voices of one familiar little girl and one familiar man snapped him out of his reverie. Craning his aching head, he spotted his rescuer and his former party member.

"N-Naofumi? Rino?" Motoyasu blurted out, standing up to see the two aforementioned bickering with each other. Their eyes turned to Motoyasu, who was looking a little disheveled from the drowning.

"Lord Motoyasu!" Rino cried out, hugging her hero. The blonde hero was surprised, but pats the girl's back in response.

"A-Ah, Rino! I…" The Spear Hero comforted, but the man still looked despondent. His words and mannerisms felt half-hearted, something that the Shield Hero noticed, but couldn't blame.

"Can you walk?" Naofumi asked, a little indifferent to his condition, but the man's downcast expression seemed to intrigue him.

"Y-Yeah…. Wait, when did I get this large scar on my armour?" Motoyasu looked at his chest oddly, as there was a big messy slash across his chest. Naofumi grimaced a little, thinking that the **Chainsaw** did a lot of damage to his equipment.

"Battling." Naofumi responded with such firmness, that he left no room for answers. _'At least those priests of the Church did a good job patching him up.'_ He thought, before grabbing his Linkshell. "We can't stay here in the city sluice for long. Let me try to contact my friends…" Excusing himself, Motoyasu and Rino began to converse, probably for the first time in a long time since they started.

"Eh? Wait, we're in Melromarc's sluice?" Motoyasu asked, confused. "But… how did we get here? Last I remember we were in the arena." Rino raised her head and let go of her old party leader.

"Lord Naofumi made decoys of us when he cast a huge teleportation spell on the rebels and his slaves." Rino responded in place of Naofumi. "He hid in plain sight, and then brought us down here from the tower."

"Wait, the castle tower has a shortcut to the sluice?"

"Yeah, I knew that Melromarc has a network underneath here, but seeing it in this size…" Rino began to think to herself, then began to dig into her pack.

"What are you digging up, Rino?" Motoyasu looked to her pack with curious eyes, before she pulled out a book. It looked like a history book, as it was about Melromarc in ancient times.

"_Annals of the Kingdom of Melromarc: Siltvelt War Era_." She read out the title, with Motoyasu looking at the book and girl, impressed that she was smart.

"Wow. So these tunnels were important during the Siltvelt War…" Motoyasu said to himself, but then wondered something. "What is Siltvelt?"

"Really? You don't know about the kingdom of Siltvelt?" Rino looked at Motoyasu like he was a stranger until she remembered… "Oh wait, you're new to this world. Well, Siltvelt is a kingdom, consisting of demi-humans, who treat humans as slaves, in contrast to Melromarc."

"Oh! That's… that's new to me." Motoyasu commented, with the new information sinking in a little. "I'm guessing this kingdom and that one didn't really get along, did they?"

"No, they didn't. In fact, they had a big war 150 years ago, and a smaller one 25 years ago." Rino explained. "Melromarc fought against the Siltvelt due to their discriminations and differences. In the big war 150 years, many adventurers and even all of the Heroes worked together to fight Siltvelt. However, they could not get an advantage due to the interference of the Legendary Shield Hero named Iwatani, who fought for the demi-humans, and Melromarc ultimately had its resources drained, and they were forced to surrender after the mysterious death of the queen."

"..." Motoyasu only stayed silent, processing the information. While it didn't explain the reason why Melromarc hates demi-humans, it did offer insight for the other nation it fought against, who had the exact opposite beliefs. "So what did Siltvelt do after they got their win?"

"While Siltvelt demanded much from the pact of surrender, it was ultimately the Shield Hero who actually made it fair for both kingdoms, due to his unwavering willpower, and desire to have demi-humans and humans coexist peacefully. Some, on both sides, protested, but ultimately, it was decided and negotiated between all Four Heroes."

"And what were the terms of surrender?"

"Melromarc to be in peace, if the monarchy brought the members or the heads of prime instigators of the war to Siltvelt, which included one of the Heroes and his weapon."

The Spear Hero widened his eyes, and even took an unconscious step back from that information. "One of the Heroes… actually got executed?"

"Yes, by the Shield Hero himself." Rino looked at the book's pages. "Or at least...that's what the books say…"

"Hmph. Of course the books would say that…" Naofumi informed, walking back to the pair. "That's not what really happened, you know. The authors probably wrote the book to discredit the Shield Hero."

"Eh? W-Wha?" Rino raised her eyebrows, looking at Naofumi like an oddity. "What do you mean? The author was completely neutral to recording and documenting what exactly happened in the wars."

"Yes, but he clearly wrote it wrong on purpose. It wasn't Siltvelt nor was it me who executed that Cardinal Hero. Rather he was brought to Siltvelt to serve time, for a long time, enough to render him useless to use any and all weapons, including his own." Naofumi explained. "Siltvelt still demanded one Hero: a specific one, not a Cardinal Hero. But they never found him. Later, they learned that the Hero died in the war, backstabbed by traitors, and his weapon stolen." The girl and the Spear stayed silent at those words, trying to process it all. "Look, we're wasting time. They'll know we're down here eventually, so come on." The Shield Hero snapped them out of it and began to walk towards the dark tunnels.

"W-Whoa! Wait up! Lord Naofumi!" Rino tried to catch up to the Shield Hero, and Motoyasu followed, questions in their minds.

Naofumi only scrunched his face, those events playing in his mind…

**.o0o.**

_"There you are! I want answers! Why hasn't your side of the negotiations been delivered yet?"_

_"W-We apologize, but the man you are looking for..."_

_"What do you mean you won't hand him over? He was one of many who's instigated this war in the first place, and you will not hand him over?! Do you have a goddamn death wish?!"_

"_But we cannot possibly relinquish him! He's our Hero! The sav-! GUAAAAUGH!"_

_"Don't make me throw you to the meat mill! And he's no saviour at all!"_

"_S-Shield Hero, please! Control yourself! We do not need your temper to sour this surrender pact with Melromarc!" The mediator's voice interjected itself, but the Shield Hero shoved it away, then turned back to the negotiator, cooling down just a little.  
_

"_...Fine. Then ask me this: where is the murderer of the Staff Hero?!"_

_"W-We don't know! We can't find him! Forgive us!"_

"_...How can you not know?! He is my friend! He was killed on your soil! He was murdered by your own kin!"_

_"Our own kin... B-But you're human too! How could-?!"_

_"One more out of line... I dare you to speak it, human...!"_

_"Gyaaahhh! We don't know! We don't know who has killed hiiim! Please don't hurt me!"_

_"...You really don't know? Then he, or they, are still out there… I hope you give us those 'other' instigators of the war to us then."_

"_..."_

"_Well?"_

"_S-Surely, Shield Hero, there can be another method… t-to-."_

"_No. Either you have them, or we will go in there and search for them, collateral damage be damned. It's them or all of you. Choose now."_

"_N-No please! I beg you! We will find them! We swear!"_

"_Good. Then I hope you find the Staff Hero's murderer fast. Our patience wears thin, or else we'll take another Hero's head instead."_

**.o0o.**

The trio made their way to the main complex, where it was a huge maze in the sluice. The eerie darkness and the dripping waters gave the place almost a creepy yet serene place. It was like a lake or a river outside, except it was kept indoors.

"Whoa… this place is huge…" Motoyasu commented, as he expected the sluice to be a lot more smaller, like an actual sewer. "It's like a palace down here… and there aren't any treasures here either."

"That's because it's been used." Naofumi explained, like an uninterested tour guide as they walked down the halls. "In the war, Siltvelt soldiers dug underneath the kingdom, and ambushed them through their tunnels, much like assassins in the night, until the final battle, where the soldiers snuck into the command center and captured the leaders, forcing Melromarc to surrender. Now, I hear that some sort of secret service uses these tunnels to get around." The Shield Hero finished, feeling the walls out of… perhaps nostalgia. However, silence was all he got, and he could feel their eyes behind him. Turning around, Naofumi noticed that they were looking at him in a contemplative manner. "What?"

"Naofumi…" Motoyasu looked at him oddly, almost looking a little uncomfortable being near him. The Shield Hero in question genuinely wondered what was on Motoyasu's mind. "Who… ARE you?"

"Huh?" Naofumi raised an eyebrow. "I'm Naofumi, the Shield Hero." That only made the Spear Hero narrow his eyes.

"Riiiiight, and I'm the Prime Minister of Japan." Motoyasu sarcastically replies, which made Naofumi cock his head at that new information.

"You are? Congrats. News to me." Naofumi offhandedly congratulated.

"No!" Motoyasu snapped at him. "You… you know so much about this game world, you do more than what people say the Shield Hero could do, like you can cast magic, use that stick and transform it into weapons, and…!" The man took a deep breath. "Just… you act like you played this game before… just… who are you?" He asked again, looking intently at Naofumi, who only stayed silent.

And that silence continued. The only sounds were the drips of water and the ambience of the sluice, to the point of Rino being a little afraid of the tension. That is, until Naofumi smirked and pointed at himself.

"Me?" Naofumi began, only to stretch out the silence a little more. "Heh, well… I guess you can call me a _'legacy player'_, Spear Hero." The man cryptically replied to his question, only to see Motoyasu just stare at him with widened eyes and a hard studious frown. "Done yet? We need to-."

The Shield Hero suddenly froze, like he sensed something dangerous. Motoyasu and Rino looked at him oddly, until Naofumi's hands launched out instantaneously and dug into the brick wall, almost as if he was digging into something. "How long were you there for…?" The man snarled, as a choking sound was heard. Suddenly, a figure uncloaked herself from being completely invisible, choking from Naofumi's hand. It was a cloaked woman, covered with a white pointy mask, struggling to breathe.

"Naofumi!" Motoyasu snapped at the man in surprise. Rino yelped in shock, seeing her new lord choking someone out of the blue after looking a little jovial for a split second. "Let go of her!"

"..." Naofumi didn't respond, but after a few seconds and looking at Motoyasu and his desperate face, which was completely new to Naofumi, he let the cloaked woman go, letting her fall to the ground, gasping for air. But her noises soon ceased as she saw the barrel of a 'gun' stick pointed at her.

"W-Who is she?" Motoyasu looked at her. She looked like some sort of hermit or assassin. Rino also got a good look, and gasped.

"W-Wait… aren't you t-the Shadows?" Rino blurted out in surprise.

"Shadows? Like, assassin kind of shadows?"

"Yes, but they belong to the Queen! They're famous for doing black ops and being her unflinching eyes on Melromarc!" Rino exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"Yep. At least, it's their _modus operandi._" Naofumi agreed on the little girl, still having his eyes trained and the barrel aimed at the shadow's face. "But who this shadow answers to, we can find out here. So answer me this, shadow."

"H-Huh?" The shadow looked at Naofumi with slight fear behind her mask. "I daresay, w-what's your question?"

The man narrowed his eyes, noting the weird mental tick in her own lines, and then asked his question "..._Where do sleeping dogs lie_…?"

"H-Huh?" Motoyasu raised an eyebrow at that statement, until he saw the shadow visibly gasp at that line.

"I-I d-daresay, w-where did you hear that-?" She was cut off with the barrel going closer to her face in a forceful manner.

"Answer the question." Naofumi hissed at the woman through his gritted teeth. "Where. Do sleeping. Dogs. Lie?" His eyes and the sound of a cocking gun promised death if she didn't answer.

"A-At the beck and call of their masters…!" The woman replied with much haste, fearing he could drive the bullet in her head at any time. The barrel kept aiming at her face as the glare of the Shield Hero kept her on edge. But after a minute, the man moved the gun away from her head, making her relax a little.

"Hmph." Naofumi huffed, making the others relax. Motoyasu walked up to the Shield Hero, almost a little peeved at the sight.

"Naofumi! You can't just hurt a woman like that…!" The Spear chastised Naofumi.

"I did it, because we can't trust anybody in this town." The Shield replied. "Besides, what would you have done…?"

As the two of them argued, the shadow looked at the Shield Hero, remembering the cold fire in his eyes and the grip of death that was nearly holding her shoulders. She wouldn't admit it, but from everything she has seen, the way the Shield Hero interrogated her nearly made her cry out in fright. But what caught her off-guard the most was the codeline that he had asked her.

'_...Where do sleeping dogs lie…?'_

_'I daresay...how does he know that line…? Only those in the Queen's order of shadows know it…!_' The shadow screamed in her mind. Who was this man? How did he detect her when she was invisible? So many mysteries surrounded the man, and his origins.

"...Ugh... Still, it's just not right." Motoyasu scratched his head.

"It doesn't matter. I hear more coming…" Naofumi grumbled, then looked at the shadow. "Shadow. Is it just you in this city right now?"

"Y-Yes…" She confirmed, which made Naofumi grimace.

"Of course…" The man then turned his shield to his right, in the direction of the darkness. "**Air Strike Shield!**"

A green barrier appearing out of nowhere formed, and what looked like miniature darts flew and deflected off the shield. Then suddenly from behind, three figures emerged from the water, their daggers in their hands, intent to kill. Rino screamed from terror, while Motoyasu barely had time to grab his spear. However, Naofumi calmly, yet quickly raised his 'gun' stick, changing its shape into what looks like a camera, with a large built-in dish.

"**Flash!"**

A giant blinding flash of light emerged from the dish, causing the three shadows to scream, covering their eyes, abandoning their attempts of assassination, and falling into the water.

"This way!" Naofumi commanded, grabbing the shadow, and running into the darkness, with Motoyasu and Rino sprinting with him. Behind them, they could hear the footsteps of adversaries behind them.

"What the, what are they?!" Motoyasu cried out, holding onto Rino's hand as they ran.

"More shadows, of course. And they're there to silence us." Naofumi told them as he hefted his captive shadow.

"W-What? But I thought they belonged to the Queen!"

"Some of them do, but others, like these guys, don't!" The Shield Hero growled to himself, feeling like he's going to run to a dead end sooner or later. But suddenly, he spotted a blue light waving around in the darkness, then it went around the corner on the right. "Ah! There…!" The trio began to follow the light, who was directing them through the tunnels, but as soon as they turned a sharp corner, Rino slipped and fell on her side, harming her ankle.

"Ah!" Rino fell to the ground and sprained her ankle painfully. Motoyasu stopped and sharply turned around.

"Rino!" Motoyasu cried out, and ran back to the girl, as the shadows jumped and dove towards the girl, daggers diving towards the pink-haired girl.

"**Repel!"** Naofumi blasted the shadows back, but quickly they landed like ninjas and charged once again.

"**Chaos Spear!"** Motoyasu roared, multiple spears firing in multiple directions towards the shadows, who weaved around the light arrows, before they dove down towards the girl, who was their first target. "NO!" The Spear screamed in horror.

"**Shield Prison!"** Suddenly, a shell of shields appeared around the downed Rino, and blocked their daggers. **"Pulsating Thorns!"** Spikes then exploded outward and repelled the shadows, piercing their hands. The shields disappeared, and Motoyasu picked up Rino bridal style.

"Rino, are you okay?" Motoyasu asked, but the girl winced from her sprained ankle.

"Ah… I can't stand…!" Rino moaned from the pain, but there was no time. Naofumi got in front of them and readied **Machinist** once again.

"**Flash!"** Another blinding flash of light erupted from the machine, completely blinding the shadows. They stumbled backwards, some even falling into the slurry of water, and it was the perfect opportunity to get them off their trails, so Naofumi swapped to **Alchemist**. **"Mega Adhesive!"** Numerous flasks of glue were thrown onto the shadows, revealing them in the darkness and gluing them onto the floors and walls.

"Agh! Glue?!" One cried out, as he tried to tear himself out of the glue, but that only made him even more sticky. Their targets escaped with no trouble at all, and now were nowhere to be seen. But luck had come for them, as the shadows from the water came out of the water and pulled everybody out of the glue, washing them with the sluice water.

"Damn… we lost them…!" One of them gritted their teeth, as he got up, wiping himself off of the last of the glue.

"No way we'll be able to find them in this maze of a sluice. Report to the Pope immediately." Their captain ordered, and they all disappeared without a trace.

* * *

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!********

* * *

**Sorry, this took a while. It's because of a summer job that I'm working on. Sadly. It will take some time however, to make another chapter. I'll try to make the chapters once a week. Since they are short, then it would be a cinch.**

**Yes, we learned more about Naofumi's past. This was the hardest part to write about, in order to correlate with what I want in the future. It might be canon, or it might not be canon (I actually haven't read the light novels, and probably never). I'll let you connect the dots.**

**Yes, I let Motoyasu have some screentime with Naofumi. The guy gets a lot of shit for his actions, which makes a lot of sense. So why not shake things up and have him be the first to know the truth about Bitchie's true nature? Plus, he has the potential to be Naofumi's most helpful ally.**

**No, I did not get Shadowbringers early access. I'm a patient man though.**

**No, I will not stop the brainwashing now. Thanks for the idea, pinkdog16.**

**No, I have no sympathy with King Aultcray AKA Trash the Bag, despite his 'good' intentions. Instead of thinking like a king, he thought like a spoiling father, and knowing that he was a war hero, this really destroyed any sort of respect I had towards the guy. So I'm changing things up with him a little.**

**Yes, Naofumi will be able to unravel the plan of the Pope, but later on, the three other Heroes will have their time to shine.**

**Yes, the religion, in this fanfiction, started quite a long time ago. I'll give you a hint: the war 150 years ago.**

**Yes, I understand that Malty deserves execution, but the thing about the most hated characters: we keep them around so we can hate them more, until the very end, when it's satisfying.**

**No, the Shield Hero class is NOT GETTING ATTACKS! Did you forget that if Naofumi lobbs the shield like a boomerang, it would deal damage based on his 9999 STR?**

**Yes, Machinist can already make golems by themselves. They just need sufficient metal.**

**No, only two classes can fuse. I love your ideas though. _Shadowlord_ from Assassin and Summoner (I might change the name though, makes me less of a copyrighter, like _Reaper_. I like _Reaper_), Machinist and Alchemist making _Ferromancer_ (a being that can control metal, even in its liquid state, and I know people called it Fullmetal Alchemist, but I prefer it to be one or two short words, and Fullmetal or Hextech doesn't tell me anything about alchemy), Cleric and Summoner making _Divine Summoner_ (might change name to _Valkyrie_ or something), Magus and Cleric making a _Sage_ (something that will come in later), Machinist and Magus making a _Gun Mage _(Ehhhh...), or a Magus and a Swordsman making a _Sword_ _Mage_ (I'm not going to have Naofumi have Swordsman).**

**I love suggestions like this.**


	14. Chapter 14: Rescue and Repercussions

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!********

**I don't own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_It was a cruel twist of fate: a man and his party who has seen hope within Melromarc's tyranny offer their hand to the rebels. People who wish to be free, to break bread with a hero, to travel with and even get to know him... only to turn their backs unwillingly when the time was rife. Hypnotized at the last moment and being forced to turn themselves against him was a ghastly thing he and his dear friends had to deal with; this was why it was the Tyrantress's favourite spell.  
_

_It was a torturous spell: capable of completely transforming the mind and will and bending it to the caster's whim. Like an outer shell of unwanted thoughts and actions, with the inside still conscious, able to experience everything. While Melromarc today has expelled such a dangerous and inhumane spell to be forbidden, you never know when there is someone willing to use it for their own nefarious deeds._

_\- "___Annals of the Kingdom of Melromarc: Siltvelt War Era_." Volume 3  
_

* * *

"_MASTERRRRrrrrr!" The voice of Keel screamed out hysterically inside the Mayor's home in Lute Village. The wolf girl flailed about, crying and trying to escape the grasp of Étoile, trying to hold her back from going back to Melromarc. _

"_S-STOOoooOOOP! YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED!" Étoile held the girl in a full nelson wrestling grab, trying to stop her from going through her desperate plan._

"_B-BUT MASTER NAOFUMIIIIIIiiIIIIIiiiiiiI!" Keel wailed, trying to break free from the grip, but nobody could escape a full nelson, especially from one with a higher strength stat._

"_Ugh! Damnit, control yourself! The Shield Hero will be fine!" Étoile growled out, the struggling Keel was putting up was wearing her down slowly but surely. Suddenly, she heard a creak from the side, and glared hard like the eyes of a dangerous beast. Those very same eyes caught another perpetrator trying to leave._

"_Ah…! E-ehh…" Raphtalia looked like she was caught like a deer in the headlights, as her face drained of all colour. Slowly turning to see Étoile's glowing eyes, her body went to full instincts and began to run to the door, but was blocked by a shield._

"_Raphtalia!" It was Ake, his shield blocking the doorway towards the exit. "What are you doing? Are you really going to go in there by yourself?!"_

"_I… I need to!" The raccoon girl demanded, in a desperate manner. "Please, Ake! I need to rescue Master Naofumi! I-I…" The girl couldn't' answer and tried to push Ake, but he held her back._

"_We can't! Not by ourselves!" Ake retorted back, holding the girl, who was trying to get around him._

"_W-What?! You'd leave him to die?! You'd betray Master Naofumi?!" The raccoon girl shouted at him indignantly, which Ake rapidly shook his head and screamed back._

"_NOT ON YOUR LIFE!" That made the three women stop and stare at the young man with surprise. Never had they heard the man scream back with such force. "Not if it leads you and Keel to your deaths! I won't allow it!" The man defiantly spread his arms and legs, blocking the doorway._

"_W-Why…?" Raphtalia sniffled, a tear falling out of her eye. "Master Naofumi trusted you…"_

"_And I trust him too. I'm not betraying him," Ake replied with a gentle tone, comforting the young raccoon lady. "Because… I know he can fight his way out of there."_

"_Listen to yourself! Master may be really strong, but he isn't immortal! Sooner or later, he… he might…!" Keel shouted from Étoile's grapple, tears falling from her eyes at the reality that the end of her sentence might bring. It only made Ake shake his head vehemently._

"_He won't!" The knight declared. " He'll come back! I just know it, because I have faith in him!" His words made the two of them contemplate, in terms of Naofumi. Never has he once failed to keep his word on surviving. When they were in trouble, or when they argued or when they were in predicaments that they couldn't get out of, it was Naofumi who helped them through it all, thick and thin._

_'Hey, look sharp!' Ake remembered what he has said when he first met him._

'_Keep doing the basics and you'll be a master eventually.' Keel reminisced, learning how she could fight effectively.  
_

'_If you can't fight, then you gotta get out of here! I-I'll buy you time! Hurry!' Raphtalia recollected, from the hurt form of Naofumi desperately trying to buy time for his party to escape in exchange for his life.  
_

'_I'm glad you were able to overcome that boss…' Ake recalled how proud and relieved Naofumi was when they cleared through the mines, and how stubborn Raphtalia and Keel were with his injuries, yet it felt like the two of them became closer to Naofumi from that life-or-death situation...  
_

"_I… I know you guys are worried. He was the one who brought you out of those cages, rescued you from the clutches of slavery, and he knew that he would have faith that you would rescue him from that cerberus or help him against the chimera." Ake spoke out with resolve. "He had faith in you, so why not have faith in him?" His eyes roared with a tempered fire, as he looked at both demi-humans, who didn't know what to do…_

'_Wow… he actually calmed them down… And he did it so bravely too...' Étoile smiled, the resolution solved by someone who hasn't just witnessed the birth of a captain in the making. Seeing the inspiration and confidence exuding out of him arose new feelings from within her heart. 'Who is this man, and what happened to the old Ake…?' _

_**Ring ring! Ring ring!**_

"_Huh? Ake looked at his back pocket, and noticed the blue glow. Picking it up, he saw mana being channeled and a familiar face._

"_**Hey, Ake. You guys safe yet?"**_

_The silence and the determining aura vanished, as the three of them cheered happily and jovially so suddenly._

"_IT'S NAOFUMIIII!" The three of them cried out like teary-eyes children, like a parent coming home for Christmas early, with tons of presents._

'_Ooookay… I spoke too soon. Guess Ake is still a kid at heart.' Étoile's thoughts were deadpanned as she watched the image of Naofumi come up._

"_Maaaasterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr… I-I-I…uwaaaaaahhh~!" Keel bawled out, crying like a child despite her appearance. Raphtalia was the same thing, but she controlled herself a little better._

"_Masterrrr Naofumiiii….! We-We thought you w-were…!" Raphtalia sobbed out, tears letting loose like sparkling streams. Naofumi only sighed._

"_**Sorry… but Mass Return doesn't affect the caster, sadly. It's one of many drawbacks."**__ Naofumi explained over the Linkshell. His eyes then turned his attention to Ake. __**"Ake, are you-?"**_

"_N-Naofumiiiii…!" The young knight bawled out. "I-I'm so glad you're okaaaaay… I knew you w-wouldn't leave ussss…!"_

"_**...Get a hold of yourself, Ake. I thought you were the level-headed one..."**__ Naofumi rolled his eyes over the bawling knight. __**"Is everybody in Lute Village now?"**_

"_Yes, they are, Sir Naofumi." Étoile confirmed in place of Ake. "The guests and the Mayor of Lute have arrived back here safe and sound. Ake directed many of the rebels to help the citizens with whatever they need, like rebuilding, or resupplying." She reported._

"_**Right. Thank you, uhh… Étoile."**_

"_No, we should be thanking you, Sir Shield Hero." Étoile continued, and gave the man a salute, which made the other occupants look at her with surprise. "Your rebellion may not have been successful, but you were able to get most of the troops out of the castle, while nearly sacrificing your freedom and possibly your life."_

"_**It's fine, Étoile, there's n-... Wait!"**__ The man froze from the words she has said. __**"MY rebellion?"**__ The man emphasized in question._

"_Y-Yes, why?" Étoile confirmed, but a little confused about what Naofumi was so shocked at._

"_**What do you mean, why?! It wasn't my idea to do this rebellion at all!"**__ Naofumi sternly informed the demi-human, making the companions._

"_H-Huh?!" Étoile looked completely flabbergasted, while Ake, Raphtalia and Keel looked at her with some concern. The somewhat serious woman suddenly looked like she just experienced her worst nightmare. "Of course it came from you. The Vice-Captain relayed to us that you were staging a heist to get at the king and his daughter. He was to charge in with the rebels as soon as the match ended, along with escorting the other villagers out of there." The plan sounded completely nonstrategic and foolish, and the purpose was made to be rather petty. Hearing all of that only made Naofumi put his hand on his face and shake his head in exasperation._

"_**Ugh... I would never make a dumb plan like that, nor did I ever meet your Vice-Captain about any plan. Clearly, it might be misinformation..."**__ Naofumi grimaced as he spoke the truth to Étoile, but she turned red with anger._

"_How dare you speak to the Vice-Captain like that!" She snarled back, baring her fangs, her eyes glowing a menacing red, and balling her hands into fists. "There's no way his plan was dumb! If it was, we wouldn't be safe here right now! Is he there with you, Naofumi?! I want to hear it from him!" The cat girl yelled, causing the three occupants to flinch in terror at the might of an axe-wielding warrior. Naofumi calmly shook his head._

"_**He's not here. I didn't find him through your rebellion."**__ The Hero replied back, a little grim. __**"He fought the Captain and the King when the rebellion began, but while I was sneaking out in the end, I witnessed the two of them, unscathed from the fight."**__ Naofumi relayed, the implication most likely clear. The berserk Étoile stepped back, as the red skin and anger disappeared, leaving a devastated Étoile wide-eyed, jaw dropped, and panic rising in her heart as reality set in._

"_N-No… H-He… He can't be…!" The girl stuttered, hyperventilating, as she fell to the floor. There was simply no way, her thoughts roared out. The kind yet stern man who picked her up from the slave caravan years ago, trained her in the art of war despite the stigma, and rose through the ranks and gained much respect from her comrades, slain?! She wanted to shout at Naofumi, tell him to shove those implications up his ass, but what could she say_

"_Étoile!" _

_Ake snapped at his superior, shaking her shoulder firmly, which snapped her back to reality._

"_H-Huh?! W-Wha…?" The catgirl looked around, noticing Raphtalia and Keel looking at her worried, and Ake holding her shoulder firmly, close to her face. "A-Ake…" She muttered and blushed at the close proximity, before an 'Ahem' caught their attention._

"_**Hey, I didn't say that he was dead."**__ Naofumi reassured, which made Étoile's head turn towards his stern face. __**"He might be dead, or betrayed his unit in the off-chance…"**__ That made Étoile hiss, but the Hero continued.__** "...But he can also just be captured, imprisoned, or… if he's lucky… escaped. But we don't know if he's any of that yet."**__ He hypothesized, which made Étoile calm down significantly._

"_A-Ah…" Étoile croaked out, which made her breathe out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God…"_

"_**Listen, here's what I need you to-."**__ Naofumi began, but then the screen began to crackle. __**"Oh shit…"**_

"_W-Wha…? Master?!" Raphtalia noticed the screen beginning to fade away. Keel, Ake and Étoile gasped at what they were seeing._

"_**I'm running out of mana! Look we'll talk later!"**__ Naofumi hastily spoke, his voice slowly losing to the static. __**"Keep calm! I'm in the sluice of the castle! I'll-!"**__ The screen disappeared._

**.o0o.**

Inside the sluice, two men holding two females kept running, long losing their pursuers of the shadows of the dark aqueduct. Their footsteps echoed, yet the streams of water overshadowed them. The spearman, Motoyasu, held the magus girl with a sprained ankle, Rino, close to her, while Naofumi held a cloaked shadow over his shoulder. A blue light was shining in the darkness, leading them throughout the corridors.

Soon, after what felt like forever, the light was approaching a brick wall. The pair was preparing to stop… until they noticed that the light went through the wall.

"W-What the…?!" Motoyasu blurted out in surprise, and he was preparing to stop, but Naofumi grabbed his armour near his neck.

"No time. Get through the wall, or we might lose the light!" Naofumi said to Motoyasu, dragging towards the wall. The Spear braced himself as there was no time to stop, waiting for himself to hit solid stone….

...only for him to go through it.

"W-What the…?!" Motoyasu widened his eyes, looking at where he was. It was still the sluice, but he noticed that he literally went right through the wall. Lookin back, it saw that very same wall wasn't there at all.

"A fake wall… or more like…" Naofumi began, then looked at the blue light. "...an illusion." Indeed, the fake wall was conjured up, and the one who has been leading the pair all along…

"Well well, Shield Hero. I believe that should cover the 40 silver I owe you from before, yes?"

Naofumi didn't respond, but he did narrow his eyebrows at the man who was chuckling. Motoyasu turned and spotted a short portly man with a top hat, a tuxedo resembling the Penguin, and glasses that hid his eyes. In his hands was a lantern, housing blue fire, and the same blue light that was enveloping the fire.

"...Beloukas." Naofumi simply uttered. There wasn't any sense of hatred or frustration, but the portly heard a sense of… relief, he thinks… in his voice.

"Y-You… you were the one who was leading us?" Motoyasu guessed, which made the man smile.

"Why yes. I owe the Shield Hero a favour after all, and ever since I heard the deplorable news of the Shield Hero's own rebellion and attempt for regicide, I had to find out the truth from the horse's mouth." The slave trader explained his motives, his creepy smile never going away, as usual.

"I never conjured up the damn rebellion. Someone else put that idea in their heads or staged it to frame and discredit me, because I was not involved in it whatsoever." Naofumi growled out irritably for the second time, which made Beloukas nod.

"Well, I have my answer then!" Beloukas gave a laugh, his curiosity sated. "Now then… oh, what do we have here?" The creepy man noticed the girl in Motoyasu's arms, who looked back for a second and froze in terror.

"I-I-I-It's…!" Rino stuttered at the man, whom she has known for quite a while. The girl's memories began to flash back, when she was a younger child. How she was always energetic, running around the streets of Melromarc, helping her mother with groceries. Suddenly, she had to cross a big striped tent… and she was curious. Looking through the flaps, she then saw the man, smiling, like a creepy clown-esque ringmaster, awaiting her. Not only that, but there were cages, lined up, with growling monsters and cries from the inside that made her run away. It would creep her out immensely, which affected her psyche growing up. Her grandma told her about him, how he was a slave trader and to never go near that gate, lest he kidnaps you and sell you to Siltvelt, a kingdom where little human girls are slaves and whims to demi-human monsters. It made her terrified, and it was a big blow to her energetic personality. Now, she was a bookworm, and studier of magic (turns out, she was a prodigy in it), and kept her face in the books rather than on the streets.

"Why hello there~." The fat man's suave charms did not put her at ease. Motoyasu noticed this, and pulled away.

"H-Hey! Knock it off!" The Spear barked, not knowing that this man was a slave trader.

"We're wasting time here, Beloukas. Is there a way out?" Naofumi urged, which made the trader point behind him.

"Right there leads to the exit of the sluice, but why not stay for a spell?" The man offered, pointing to a large doorway, and an elevator leading up, possibly to his circus tent.

"No, we do-." Naofumi began, but Motoyasu interrupted.

"Thank you, and we'll take it." The Spear Hero replied with much vigour, still not knowing that he was a slave trader. Naofumi looked at him with a bit of shock and oddity, while Rino paled from the Spear Hero's remark.

"W-Wha…?" Rino sputtered with fear.

"Motoyasu, we do not have time. Plus, he's-." Naofumi began but Motoyasu looked at him and cut him off.

"We need to heal Rino's ankle, plus we have no idea who this shadow lady person is." Naofumi looked at him, seeing the fire burning in his eye, then looked at the shadow strapped on his arm. By the looks of it, she has made no attempt to escape, almost as if she wanted to stay with the Shield. Despite Motoyasu's reasoning behind it being benevolent, it was still unnecessary and most likely dangerous for them if they get caught.

"Ugh fine. Just… don't last out or regret your choice when we go up." Naofumi sighed exasperatedly, as the group walked to the elevator. As it began to go up, Naofumi looked at Beloukas, who kept his professional smile and demeanor.

"Beloukas, what exactly is that lanturn you have?" The Shield Hero asked, which made Beloukas raise his lanturn.

"Oh, this dinky little thing?" He pointed out. "It's one of my own. Useful for going through labyrinths, and augmenting magic power." That only confirmed Naofumi's suspicions.

"Hmph. I knew it." Naofumi crossed his arms. "You aren't just a slave trader, aren't you?" That made the man smirk, while Motoyasu widened his eyes and looked at the portly man. That was probably what Naofumi meant on regretting his choice.

"W-Wait, you're a slave trader?!" Motoyasu exclaimed, but Naofumi put his hand over Motoyasu's mouth.

"Enough, Motoyasu." Naofumi shushed the man, not wanting to hear any sort of banter. "I'll explain later. So be patient."

"B-But…!"

"Look, you kill him, and we have nowhere else to go. You want to stay in the sluice and be captured again? Be my guest. If not, then just take the hospitality, alright?" Naofumi hissed out, leaving no room for answers. When Motoyasu backed down, Naofumi turned back to Beloukas. "I never thought I would meet an **Illusionist**, a master of seals and trickery. I thought they all died out after their genocide during and after the war."

"When you know friends in high places, they can get you such ancient texts and books on how to cast such spells. Hehehe!" Beloukas laughed in response. Motoyasu listened to his words, wondering if he was the one who conjured the fake wall, but he held his tongue.

"Interesting. And that lantern…" Naofumi looked at the lantern, which glowed a soft but eerie blue. "That's an arcane lantern, powered by one's own mana. So that means that you're not just an** Illusionist**, but a combined class. Both **Illusionist** and **Sorcerer.**"

"Correct." Beloukas confirmed. "You really are knowledgeable and sharp for one so young, Shield Hero." He complimented, holding his lantern and letting the wisps of magic power encircle his hand. "Almost… too sharp." The man muttered to himself, so only he could hear.

"Hm?"

"Nothing. We're almost there."

"H-Huh…? Combined class…?" Motoyasu tilted his head, but again, Naofumi raised his hand over his mouth.

"Again, I'll tell you later."

**.o0o.**

In a different section of the tent, Rino was treated with some restorative spells on her ankle, and some rest. The girl has been through a lot, from the Wave, to escaping the castle. Beloukas had his own business to do, but not before swearing that he will not touch the girl. Now it was just Naofumi and Motoyasu, both in their bedroom, completely with two beds.

"So…" Motoyasu stares at Naofumi hard. He knew he had some questions, and at this point, Naofumi had to answer them.

"Alright. You have questions, I may have answers." The Shield Hero sighed, and then looked back. "Shoot"

"Right." Motoyasu took a deep breath, and asked his first simple question. "Who are you?"

"Naofumi Iwatani."

"Alright. How do you know so much about the game?"

"Don't you remember what I told you?" Naofumi smirked. "I'm a legacy player."

"Legacy?" Motoyasu tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "I never heard that term before from Emerald Online or any other game I've ever played. What the hell does it mean?"

"Cmooon. I'm sure you can figure it out." Naofumi concluded with a smirk, making Motoyasu narrow his eyes.

"It's not funny! Just what is a 'legacy player'?!" Motoyasu demanded, leaning closer to the man, but Naofumi waved him off.

"Maybe if you ask me more questions, then you can piece it all out on your own." The Hero suggested. After a minute of staring, the Spear relented.

"Fine. Next: What is a 'combined class'?" Motoyasu asked calmly.

"A class that combines two basic ones together to create a new one, whence upgraded." Naofumi explained, but Motoyasu's eyes only showed confusion. "Okay, so you know about upgrading classes, right?"

"Uh, yeah. They told us that at level 40, people can upgrade their classes, deviating from two different branches, right?"

"Yes. But if you master two skill sets from two different jobs, then you can combine those to make a new kind of job, a hidden one, they say." Naofumi explained, raising two fingers on one hand, and putting them together like scissors to illustrate his point. It made Motoyasu nod with wonder and understanding.

"Really… and that slave trader man-."

"Beloukas." Naofumi interrupted.

"Huh?"

"His name. Beloukas."

"Right. That guy… Beloukas... he's…?"

"Yeah. A combined class of an **Illusionist**, who uses illusions and seals, and a **Sorcerer**, who uses dark arts and arcane magic, called a **Reaper**." Naofumi explained cryptically. "A specific kind of mage who uses the horrifying nightmares within the mind to strike fear and trickery, along with powerful dark and arcane magicks."

Motoyasu soaked it all in, and grimaced. "Perfect for a slave trader…" He grumbled, before going back to Naofumi. "...but how did you know so much about that class?"

"..." Naofumi had no idea how to walk around that question. He would have hoped to stay silent, but the Shield Hero foolishly promised to answer all his questions, and Motoyasu wasn't going to let him go so easily. The man could only grimace.

"Well? Tell me!" Motoyasu impatiently pressed on, with Naofumi finally relenting some information to him.

"I… seen that class used before." Naofumi scratched his head, the confession twisted a lot to cover up who he is.

"Thought you said they all died out." Motoyasu caught on, narrowing his eyes.

"I- uhh... saw another one!" Naofumi hastily replied. A long silence ensued between them, before Motoyasu relented.

"Fine. How are you so powerful?" Motoyasu asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, being so durable while using that stick as a wand, a blade, a freaking gun? How?" Motoyasu snapped.

"Oh." Naofumi uttered, before thinking about his words. Then he smirked at the man. "It's just a perk of being a Shield Hero and a legacy player."

"W-Wha…?" Motoyasu looked confused from that statement, so Naofumi explained further.

"The Shield Hero can't pick up a weapon, but a stick doesn't count as a weapon. The Shield Hero's perk is to help support and buff his allies, so if he buffs himself with the stick as his weapon, then it will hit hard like a club or a sword." Naofumi was bullshitting to the man, hoping he would buy it.

"T-That's cheating!" The Spear Hero exclaimed, before Naofumi covered his mouth.

"Shush, don't wake Rino." Naofumi informed, with Motoyasu stopping himself. Thinking of the girl first, he had the decency to blush, before he went back to his now-even-quieter tirade.

"How the hell are you d-doing all of… t-that?!" He asked again much more quieter. "Isn't that, like, against the game rules?! What about the game masters?! What if I get permabanned for association?! What if they-?!"

"Motoyasu!" Naofumi grasped the man's shoulders and shook them firmly, getting the man's attention. "Calm down. There aren't any of these game masters in this world."

"W-What?" Motoyasu uttered, stupefied by the knowledge, but Naofumi kept dropping bombshells.

"You're assuming that this world is a game." He clarified, making Motoyasu look at him oddly. "But I assure you, this world is very real, as real as it can be. Just like your world, and just like mine. People can be born here, people can love and be loved here, people can die here."

"B-But… what about the level-up system? The equipment? The hourglasses? The Hero Weapons?"

"All of them tools and notifications for progress in ways we understand: video games. A goal for us to make us progress and understand the progression, with the Cardinal Weapons putting forth a way to make you powerful. But that's just a theory." Naofumi explained, not really sure of it himself.

"B-But the magic… don't you have to read and absorb the book to get the powers? Malty told me how it worked!"

"Yes, that's true, but here's the thing. One, anybody and everybody can learn a spell, and it's just depends on your class. Two, if you know the incantation, the knowledge of how that spell works, and the mana to cast it, then you can cast any spell you desire."

"How… how do you know all of this?" Motoyasu struggled to ask, unable to believe all of these things that Naofumi even knows about. "Aren't you supposed to be new to this world? A newbie just like me, Ren and Itsuki?"

"...I told you, I'm Naofumi Iwatani, a legacy player, and I'm one of the few people you got left in this world now." Naofumi jammed his thumb towards Motoyasu's chest, emphasizing his point. "So for now, until we get out, we follow my orders to keep all of us safe, got it?" Motoyasu didn't answer, just still trying to absorb everything he has heard, before Naofumi straightened his back and walked to the door. "And if that's it, I'm going to bed." With that, the man ended the questionnaire from there, and opened the door… only to realize that someone was behind the door.

"U-Ummm…" It was Rino, who looked like she couldn't sleep a wink. However, she also looked visibly surprised, like she heard something she wasn't supposed to hear… "S-Sorry… I-I had a nightmare, a-and I…" The girl gazed to her feet, until Naofumi just went around her, clearly tired from today's events. His gaze was clearly being bothered by something else...

"Rino, are you…?" Motoyasu looked at her concerned, before the girl just rushed in and hugged him. He was surprised, but the girl seemed to relax in his arms.

"I-I'm sorry, L-Lord Motoyasu… I just…" Rino sputtered, but Motoyasu hugged her tightly.

"There there…" The man relented, but the girl broke free from his grasp.

"No, it's just…" The girl looked away for a moment, before looking at Motoyasu again. "I-I was… listening to what you said… and Lord Iwata-Mmmmph…!"

Motoyasu calmed the girl with a few back and head pats, while pressing her to his chest. "Shhh… just rest." He continued this for a few minutes until she relaxed and fell asleep. The man was tired enough, but did not hear what the girl was going to say to him, as he felt drowsy himself, as he laid the girl to rest and he fell asleep too.

In the deep darkness of sleep, Motoyasu missed the murmurs of Rino and the truth of what she would have said to him:

"_Iwatani… Hero… of Siltvelt… 150… years… ago…"_

**.o0o.**

"_Shit!" Naofumi cursed himself, trying to get more mana out of his system but it was no use. He can't contact them now. "Damn… this isn't going so well… That Mass Return took so much from me…"_

_Indeed, his body felt like he was running through water. Putting away the crystal, he began to think to himself. What exactly caused this insurrection to take place? Why did it take place? And if it was planned to stain his name… then who could it have been…?_

'_The High Priest? He's more brainwashing than hypnotizing… The King? Doubt it. He wouldn't have caused that much of an elaborate panic… A long stretch but maybe the Vice-Captain had a grudge…? That Captain was a serious asshole…'_ _Naofumi thought to himself._ _'Or something behind the scenes caused that 'rebellion'. There was no way the rebels can realistically win against the knights at that point, so… why do this rebellion in the first place?'_

_But there was one question that was bothering him most of all. __'The Three Heroes… Motoyasu, Ren, Itsuki… there was no way they could have been brainwashed. It's impossible. Their weapons should have prevented it from doing so… unless…'__ The man eyed his weapon, his unnatural red jewel ominously shining._

"_This was you, wasn't it? This was my consequence that I have caused, wasn't it?" Naofumi queried to the jewel. And surprisingly, it responded with a red text message._

"_**Yes."**_

_Now there was no mistaking it. Naofumi narrowed his eyes, looking at his own weapon. "You… You caused the brainwashing of those three…?"_

"_**Of course not. It was YOU who did it after all."**_

_Naofumi looked quite dumbfounded, and was about to rebuke… until he remembered. The first night, the pillar of light, and the jailbreaking he has done to his shield._

"_**That's right. You broke the Shield Jewel, and replaced the ancient prophetic magic from within with yours. I hope you're happy."**_

"_Don't put the blame on me, damn hunk of junk." Naofumi growled at the Shield._

"_**Yes I can. Your actions caused quite a lot of power upsets. The Heroes are vulnerable now, from mind tricks, slave seals and curses, to literally destroying their chances at reincarnation! You've doomed them! Them and the world!"**_

_Naofumi stayed silent, almost as if he was expected to give sympathy. But instead, his attitude was cold and uncaring. "Do I care? You know this world can survive without Heroes." Naofumi unemotionally responded._

"_**How could you say something like that? Don't you remember what they did for you?"**_

"_Yes I do, and it involved me being sent to that damn prison. You know why! I was robbed of everything I once held precious years ago! My friends! My town! My… my wife... Why should I care about these heroes in the first place?"_

"_**Hmph. And here I am, playing the world's smallest violin! Sure, you being betrayed in the end was tragic, but these heroes are not the same as the previous ones."**_

_Naofumi only looked at the text incredulously. "You kidding me? You saw the looks and behaviours that they gave off. Each of them are the splitting image!" He growled out._

"_**Doesn't mean they aren't the same."**_

"_Yes it does! The Spear was always the most gullible! The Bow was always a crowd-pleaser! The Sword has a stick up his ass! They are the same!" Naofumi banged his shield with his fist… before he took a breath._

"_**Hmph. And what about you, Shield Hero? The gallivanting rebel who's always fighting against them? Is it so wrong to antagonize them?"**_

"_I won't make the same mistakes again. I don't care if they burned in hell. This world doesn't need them."_

"_**That isn't what a Shield Hero should be saying…"**_

"_Hmph." The man began to walk towards the pair, snarling as the sound of water drowned out his muttering voice._

"_I haven't been a hero… in a long time…"_

* * *

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!********


	15. Chapter 15: Legacy Player

**********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**********

**I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_The rebels and those who wished to attack the kingdom of Melromarc at the time believed that hiding underground would stave off the hypnosis spell. Many have made digging underneath the castle their own priority: in order to avoid detection. However, that research was all in vain, as the Queen's magic did not work like that. While it has been confirmed that her magic can indeed be repelled by nature, her hypnosis magic can also work through the mind of the people. The advantage of having her magic work within the minds of mortal beings like us is that they could hide within the recesses of the mind, as if the recipients of that spell have not been hypnotized yet. Striking any time she sees fit to cause much disorder for the Shield Hero of Siltvelt. There was a reason this spell was forbidden in terms of usage and word of mouth.  
_

_Essentially, she had no need to worry about the underground. It has transformed into the sluice we know today, helping us Melromarcian citizens to gain filtered water, along with creating the network of the shadows' home base, AKA Her Majesty's Secret Service, a term coined by the Shield Hero._

__\- "___Annals of the Kingdom of Melromarc: Siltvelt War Era_." Volume 4  
__

* * *

"_This place?"_

"_Yeah, this is the place. What do you think?"_

"_I think this place looks great for a settlement. The sea is nearby, fresh vegetation and grass, even some nice refreshing wind to harvest some green crystals. I am starting to like this place."_

"_Of course. I did it because it's your people. You, plus the other demi-humans who need a settlement, who need to come here in case the waves decimate their own homes, right?"_

"_..."_

"_You're just interested in the water, aren't you?"_

"_How can you tell?"_

"_You're staring at the waters. Don't lie, you damn lazy woman."_

"_Eh. At least you thought about having the sea nearb- OW!"_

"_Don't be rude. You're lucky the Water Dragon blessed you and all, but you more of a dog, than a fish."_

"_Tch, damn Shield brat…"_

"_You say that, but you're drooling, ya damn orca."_

"_F-Fine, a little bit... from the fish__, you bratty jerk!"_

"_Oi! Who's the brat here?!"_

**.o0o.**

"Hurry!" Naofumi called the other two, as they rushed out. Beloukas was running as well with them down the sluice to their exit. From behind them, bright lights and what seems like magical glyphs and sigils were chasing them, like some sort of wide-spread curse spell that traveled along the terrain. All of them were terrified, even Naofumi, as they kept sprinting for their lives.

"Gah! How far is this stupid exit anywayyy?!" Motoyasu screamed out, his adrenaline kicking into high gear, as he dared to look back, and wailed in fright at the curse slowly catching up. Rino was beginning to lag behind, but Naofumi grabbed her under his arm.

"The exit should be there, fine sir!" The man answered back in desperation, keeping his professional tone by a small percentage, despite running fast for a portly man. "It needs a password to be said to open automatically, and it must be held in the utmost of secre-!"

"Forget the secrecy and just scream it out!" Naofumi shouted at him as they kept running, the golden trails getting closer and closer.

"I-I can't! I would be betray the code of the Queen's-!" The man looked behind him, and the tendrils were closing in, nearly touching his rear. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" The man uncharacteristically screeched in a frightened high-pitched voice, much akin to a woman's pitch, jumping at the touch. "**BE AT THE BECK AND CALL OF OUR MASTER!**" The man screamed hysterically, as within the darkness, two large doors opened immediately.

The four of them jumped, just barely missing the crawling curse, as it landed them outside. Rolling on the grass, the four of them looked up to the castle. The tendrils didn't go past a few feet beyond the door, but they rose up, along with a hundred others that crawled across the town and city wall, forming a dome, sigils floating around the surface.

"W-What the…?" Motoyasu breathed out, his eyes watching as the tendrils touched the apex, where the light was shining the brightest, which was at the castle roof. It was like a beacon, or a second sun, completely blinding in the early morning.

"Lord Motoyasu, Lord Naofumi, look! Those are...!" Rino pointed at the dome, specifically at the glyphs and sigils that formed on them. Motoyasu looked confused, but Beloukas and Naofumi understood what they were.

"Curses. A giant dome field curse." Naofumi noted, narrowing his eyes at the sight. "Tch… complete overkill, but even that couldn't stop us. Jokes on him. Beloukas, what sort of curses are they?"

"It's a blessing, the Church calls it, instead of a curse." Beloukas put his hand on his chin. A mixture of **Paralysis** and **Hypnosis**, named **Purification**."

"Must take a lot of mana to cast it with that much complexity and size. I wonder where the Pope gets his mana source… There's no way he could have acquired this on his own..." Naofumi wondered, his inner thoughts working through the machinations of the origin of this spell. _'Could it have been… perhaps he's leeching it off somewhere? The contents of this spell seems very close to... No… It can't be...'_

"Well, from the looks of it, it doesn't seem to be expanding any more than it should…" Motoyasu noted. "But let's not stick around here…"

"Right. To Lute Village we go, but first…" Naofumi announced, then looked at Motoyasu and Beloukas. "You guys are gonna have to join my party." The tophat man looked hesitant, but nodded at the offer. Motoyasu, on the other hand, looked like he heard the most craziest thing imaginable.

"Whoa whoa wait… isn't that, like, not allowed due to our weapons, Naofumi?" Motoyasu asked in confusion.

"You shouldn't worry about that. I only need you for party with me to teleport out of here…" Naofumi replied, before they all saw the dome disappear. "...before the cavalry comes."

"W-Wha…?!" Motoyasu looked surprised when he saw the dome disappear. "The dome disappeared!"

"No shit, Sherlock! Now accept it!" Naofumi growled at him, as he could hear the gates of Melromarc beginning to open. Motoyasu didn't think twice and accepted the party invite, and Naofumi immediately began to cast **Return**.

The soldiers walked out like drones, missing Naofumi and his party disappearing without a trace, leaving behind only rippling distortion.

**.o0o.**

"There. The entire city, parent to child, has been converted to the light of God." The Pope smiled benevolently, a few of his loyal followers bowing to him at his successful spell. Anyone that was hit with his blessing, immediately fell into his control. One would call it a divine sending, a message sent to sprawl and wash even the darkest cornerstones with their light.

"This… this isn't what I imagined you would do, your Eminence." King Aultcray muttered out, baffled from what was cast to the entirety of Melromarc. "I-I…" Speechless, he just kept staring, as slowly, citizens began to walk out of their homes, like soldiers and drones, and march towards the castle. It was aligned to what the old warhawk wanted, but to have someone else allied to him control it instead? Seeing his citizens used like that by the priest is… well, he didn't know what to think. It also didn't help that there were a number of his people, namely dead summoners, knights and mages, drained out of their mana and their life, in order to cast that spell.

"You shouldn't worry, your Highness." The Pope smiled, his old robes from before completely changed to a new luminous set adorning onto his body after the last one got smudged in poo. "These new followers are now under your command as well, despite the sacrifice of your men and women. But do not fret, for their sacrifice and tribute hath granted them a direct path towards heaven on high, the highest of high honours granted within the Church. God hath willed it after all." The wickedness and darkness behind the benevolent smile made the King narrow his eyes.

"Tell me, Your Benevolence... What exactly is this sort of spell? With all of the readings I have done in the libraries, I have heard naught of a spell that can control one's body AND will..." The King muttered, but the Pope shook his head.

"That is on a need-to-know basis, old friend. Besides, you haven't fully converted into God yet, so I cannot tell this to an unbeliever..."

"W-What? I have been working with you. Supporting you, out of my own generosity, and you call me an.. unbeliever?!" The King sputtered, but the Pope only smiled that benevolent smile.

"You have been a gracious supporter, King Aultcray... but again you aren't a believer of the Church of the Three Heroes." The Pope asserted, leaving no room for question. "After all, you chose to wear the Curse Ward Tag." The robed priest t pointed at the King's chest, weeing a necklace with a slip of paper on it. The paper had ink writing on it, resembling symbols that ward curses away. At this point, Aultcray pursed his lips in frustration. Perhaps finding out about the spell wasn't worth losing his own mind to the High Priest's answer.

"Hmm… then if these soldiers obey me, then I see no problem with this!" The daughter of the King, Princess Malty, smiled in a haughty fashion. "I'll have them under our heel in no time, your Eminence, Daddy." The woman arrogantly told them, before having her own new posse and began to march towards out of the castle town. Seeing his daughter satisfied, and knowing that she has not fell for the curse, King Aultcray only let out his own huff, before getting up from his throne.

"Right. It has been a long night. I shall return to my chambers, your Eminence." The King sighed and turned on his heel to walk towards the exit on the side, leading to his chambers. The Pope turned his head, smiling his usual benevolent smile.

"Rest well, your Highness. You'll not be disappointed when we capture and bring the Shield Devil and his companions to justice."

"Hmph. As long as you get him then, your Eminence, then that's all that matters to me." Aultcray's final words echoed in the throne room, as he closed the door, having quite a bit to think about. Now the Priest was alone in his room, calculating what his next move should be. As soon as he was beginning to think, another presence was made known and hopped to the Pope's side.

"Your Eminence, your followers have scoured the entirety of the underground, but none have found the Shield Devil and the kidnapped." A cloaked figure in a white cloak and mask appeared and informed the Pope, who dropped the smile.

"Hm… if only my shadows have subdued the man in the name of God… Clearly, he is not wont of those who fail to do as he commands." The power-hungry priest mused, his staff beginning to glow menacingly, making the figure get a cold sweat. However, she was saved thanks to a cocky voice in the back.

"You shouldn't be too hard on her, your Eminence." The cocky figure in the shadows smirked, sharp eyes . "The Shield Devil isn't one to be taken down so easily, ya know."

"You underestimate the strength of God." The Pope replied, looking at the curtains, where the shadow was hanging out at. Casually, the figure smirked, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Oh, I'm so afraid of thy almighty God, and his trusty stick." The figure mocked, sarcasm dripping out of the voice.

"You dare...!" The Pope snarled, but the figure held up a finger, waving it.

"Ah ah ahh~. You wouldn't do that to your benefactor. The man who gave you and your followers the power to subjugate this kingdom, would you?" The man taunted the pope, daring him to come closer. "Especially after I got the replica of the Legendary Weapons for you."

"W-Wha...? But...!" The shadow looked confused and shocked, but before she could make heads or tails out of it, the Pope simply zapped her face with purifying lightning, killing her instantly. Her corpse fell to the floor, with no remorse from the pope.

"Oooh~. Scaaaary~." The mysterious benefactor drawled out, smirking at the heartlessness of the holy man, before disappearing into the shadows. "Best you step up your game, your Eminence. That Shield demon may have escaped, but who knows when he'll strike back?" Like a shade, his voice echoes in the room, making the Pope's eyebrows furrow.

"You aren't above God, shade. Just you wait." The Pope swore, righteous anger filling his chest as he gripped the staff in his hand.

**.o0o.**

"Uuuuuu… how long is this going to take?" Keel paced around the mayor's office for what feels like the billionth time. One could see grooves on the floor where she was pacing about.

"Keel, please calm down. It's only been one night." Ake tried to calm the sleepless wolf girl, but that only earned him a growl. Raphtalia sighed at Keel's attachment to Master Naofumi, but she can't really say anything to that sort of behaviour as she was feeling the same thing. It's just that the raccoon girl controlled it better than the wolf girl.

"Sorry, Ake… she gets defensive a lot." Raphtalia apologized for Keel, then turned her head to address the wolf girl. "But you need to trust in Master Naofumi, Keel. He'll be back. I know it."

"I-I… I know, but I can't help it…!" Keel mumbled in her wallowing worryment. "I just… get these nightmares… from back when we were still slaves… But instead of us, i-it's M-Master Naof-fumi g-getting t-t-tortured…!" The young woman shivered and hyperventilated, before a hug from Raphtalia seemed to soothe her.

"Why… why didn't you tell me, Keel…?" Raphtalia comforted the wolf girl. Ake only looked at the girl with pity, but a comforting hand was placed on Keel's shoulder, from an unexpected someone.

"You must have faith in the Shield Hero, young fighter." The old mayor of Lute said his wise words to the young woman. The man has just got up from his desk to comfort the demi-human.

"Father...!" Ake was surprised about interjection.

"If the saviour had faith in you for the many deeds you have done for him, then why not return the favour and believe in him returning? It's only fair."

"I…" The way he phrased his words made Keel think about it. Naofumi never worried about his party members. He was instead trusting them, taking caring of them, nurturing them… believing in them. Worrying about them would be the last thing he would do, because he trained them; he knew they could take care of themselves. So perhaps she should do the same and trust in him to come back. At last, Keel began to take a deep breath and calm down.

"Besides, the Shield Savior is strong if he could best the monsters of the Wave, and even the Spear Hero in a duel, with only his shield and a stick." The mayor bemused with a mixture of amusement and amazement.

"Shield Savior?" Ake wondered.

"Heh, a title he and all of you shall get from the citizens and I for rescuing us during the Wave and in Melromarc. Including you, son." The mayor announced formally, making the two demi-human females smile, while Ake only gasped from his announcement.

"F-Father... I don't..." Ake modestly tried to deny the title he deserved, but the Mayor only placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Don't be modest. You've earned it, my son. I'm proud of you. Mother would be proud of you too." The two of them hugged, making the other occupants smile at the bond they shared. "Now, if only I could thank and honour the Shield Savior personally…"

Almost as if the Fates have willed it, a shift in the wind, a warp in reality and a flash of light summoned the Shield Hero on his own two feet, and his three companions. Two of them landed safe and sound, the third fell on his face. "Ow…" The Spear Hero groaned before his arms propped him up. "The hell was that…?"

"Y-Yeesh! Don't give this old man a heart attack next time!" The Mayor was startled heavily by their entrances, gripping his chest like he was literally getting a heart attack. The other three occupants in the room had different reactions however.

"MASTER!" The two girls screamed out in outright happiness, as they tackled hugged the man. He caught them in his arms, as they cried like children. Ake looked surprised by Naofumi's sudden appearance, but smiled and ran up to him.

"Naofumi, y-you-!" The man couldn't help but look relieved, as Naofumi nodded and smiled a bit.

"Good thing you're here. I was wondering if you succeeded in getting the citizens back to Lute." Naofumi assured, noticing the mayor smiled at him.

"Thank you, young Shield Savior. You have saved my townspeople and I from not just the Wave of Calamity, but from escaping Melromarc." The Mayor formally congratulated. A small window popped up from within Naofumi's HUD, giving him an alert.

**A new title has been earned!**

**[Hero of Lute]**

_**Your deeds will shine! No strings attached!**_

**(All items in Lute can be purchased at low prices or for free. New options for purchase is available. You have enough prestige and respect for the people to listen to you. +50 on all stats when in Lute, or near citizens of Lute.)**

**A new title has been earned!**

**[Shield Savior]**

_**No need for a three-day respawn.**_

**(All damage allies take 30% less damage. Teammates increase your damage by 10%. Have more allies for more potency.)**

Immediately equipping the **Shield Savior** title, Naofumi nodded back. "Thank you. Things wouldn't have been the same if you and your people were killed off by Melromarc."

"Things between us were never like this years prior. We do not know the exact reason why Melromarc has attacked us…" The Mayor looked despondent as he continued to speak. "Was it our misplaced faith… or...?"

"I'm not too sure of it myself, and it was probably not that either." Naofumi surmised. "But the main important thing is that we're here, away from that damn zealot of a High Priest, and the foolish King..." Some of the trio began to wonder what he meant, but Raphtalia noticed the three other people in the room.

"Wait… what is the Spear Hero doing here?" The demi-human asked, with eyes drawn to Motoyasu, who just got back up. The other eyes were drawn to the new occupants, who only seemed to be more cynical and suspicious.

"I-It's you! Y-You're Raphtalia… and Keel… right?" Motoyasu guessed. The raccoon girl nodded in a serious manner, while Keel looked like she was about to kick the Spear Hero's ass.

"Shut up, dumb limp Spear head!" The wolf girl glowered hard towards the Spear Hero, who recoiled from the insult. "It's YOUR fault this all happened! If you haven't issued the duel in the first place…!"

"Calm down, Keel." Naofumi ordered, making her shut up albeit reluctantly. "He's not our enemy. At least… not now." The man's eyes narrowed at that prospect, which made Motoyasu back away slightly. "I'll set him off once I give him some words and maybe a coin or two."

"Eh? Y-You're not going to help me? Not even Rino? Or-?!"

"No I'm not. Hope you haven't forgotten," Naofumi pointed his thumb to a frowning Rino. "Rino belongs to me, in my party, once you pick yourself up again. More or less, you're probably even more of a dirty bum than what I was in the beginning."

"H-Hey!" Motoyasu snapped, before looking despondent from the circumstances he was presented with. "I-I'm not that dirty… or hairy…"

"Hmph. Anyway, we came back to inform you guys about what was happening from last night." Naofumi began, turning his attention back to the group. He told them all he knew about what happened, like how the Church of the Three Heroes was helping Melromarc, how he has met Beloukas and how they narrowly escaped a curse made by the Church. Ake, Raphtalia and Keel shivered, not liking the sound of it.

"The Church of the Three Heroes…" Ake breathed out.

"You know much about them?" Naofumi asked, with the young man looking away.

"Kind of. They're a sect of The Four Cardinal Heroes Church, but that's all I know." The man scratched his head.

"I heard of them too… They were the ones who pushed for humans to abuse us demi-humans…" Keel hugged herself as the pain was flowing back.

"It was all to demonize the Shield Hero, whom they deemed a blight to human society and the Three Heroes…" Raphtalia recounted the tales, often shivering while holding Keel to herself. Hearing those three accounts and details, Naofumi felt anger bubbling up from within his gut. Real, dark, hardening anger.

'_Of course… of fucking course…'_ The man snarled under his breath. _'They would wait until I was gone to split off and make their own little cult… I wouldn't even be surprised if they instigated this whole thing…!'_ His mind was screaming for blood of the 'righteous'... and it began to leak out.

"M-Master Naofumi…?" Raphtalia backed away from the man, as he was literally leaking out a black aura. It was like a whorl of emotions backed up by one primary element…

"Damn them!" Naofumi slammed the desk hard, causing spiderweb cracks to appear on its wooden plate. The others recoiled from the sudden slam, but Raphtalia and Keel were more afraid than shocked…

Within that aura was a vast endless abyss of despair, they could feel naught but the screams and cries of pain and sadness.

Suddenly, footsteps and then a knock was heard from behind the door. "You guys!" One of the younger rebel knights opened the door. Everybody looked at the newcomer, panting for air as if he ran as fast as he could to deliver some news. "Lieutenant Étoile says it's urgent! Hurry to the front gate!" With that, the soldier ran back outside. The other party members looked at each other, but Naofumi nodded.

"Go in my stead. I'll catch up." Naofumi told them. Ake nodded with determination and jogged outside to the soldier he looked up to, while the two demi-humans looked hesitant. However, Naofumi's reassuring look made them go with Ake.

"I wonder what the big news is all about…" Rino wondered.

"You can go if you want." Naofumi told her, and she looked nervous from that prompt. Motoyasu, being the Spear Hero and all, stepped up and walked up to her.

"Don't worry, I'll go with you too, Rino." He offered, but as soon as he was going to walk out, Naofumi pulled him back by the collar.

"No you're not."

"W-What?! What do you-?!"

"I need to talk to you, privately." Naofumi's eyes told him that there was no point in arguing. Seeing that he has no choice, Motoyasu relented.

"Fine… Rino, stay with Raphtalia and Keel, okay?" The Spear Hero requested, as the little girl nodded. While she doesn't feel that comfortable with Naofumi just yet, she can at least know that the two demi-humans will look after her. As they left, Beloukas chimed in as well.

"I'll check out what is going on outside too. Fresh air does this old man's body good." The portly man walked out in his own little strut. Naofumi rolled his eyes, thinking that the slave trader was just making an excuse to not be involved, and sat down with Motoyasu.

"What is it now?" Motoyasu asked, genuinely curious.

"Just reassuring a few things. I haven't figured out about how much you know about this 'game', did I?" Naofumi told him, emphasizing the word 'game'. The meaning behind it, Motoyasu did not know. "Tell me, you know about weapon absorption, right?"

"Y-Yeah, the HELP menu informed me and the other guys about it." Motoyasu answered.

"Okay. What about titles? Or crafting?"

"Crafting? Titles? That…" The Spear trailed off. "No… I haven't yet got any of that sort."

"...Makes sense." Naofumi crossed his arms, remembering how Motoyasu has treated him before. The Shield Hero then stared hard at the man intently. "Be honest about one thing, Motoyasu. Do you trust me?"

"Huh?" Motoyasu looked at him oddly. "Of course I do!"

"Really? Is that truly so?" Naofumi narrowed his eyes. "Do you truly, absolutely, positively trust me and the words I say, along with the reality of what you are experiencing?"

"... Elaborate please?"

"Do you truly think this is a game?"

The silence was burdening, tense with the sound of night. The look on Motoyasu's face was from hard contemplation, but it said it all to Naofumi. "It's a game to you… isn't it?" Hearing no answer from the Spear Hero. "Motoyasu."

"What?" Motoyasu irritatedly replied, but the stare made him listen.

"Grow up." Naofumi simply advised, making Motoyasu widen his eyes.

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Grow up. That attitude and mindset of yours is going to get you killed." Naofumi repeated.

"What do you mean, grow up?! I'm much older than you!" The Spearman growled, standing up with rage. "I've been working my ass in university! I have a relationship back home!"

"You're also a closet gamer and a shut-in. Plus, with the way you flirted, you were probably building a harem because you weren't getting any sort of pussy, right?" Naofumi added, which made Motoyasu unable to say anything about it. "Not happy about what I said? Get over it."

"Rrrrrrgh!" Motoyasu's blood was boiling from the pelting words, as it made him ache in his core. It made him lose it "Shut up! What about you, huh?! You probably were a homeless bum in the real world! Probably manipulate others to do your bidding! You bigot! You coward! You-! YOU-!" Motoyasu couldn't even find anymore words, only huffing and puffing in anger. Throughout all of that tirade, Naofumi only watched and, when Motoyasu regained his composure at the end, shook his head.

"Perhaps I am, Motoyasu."

"W-What?" Motoyasu looked surprised at the nonchalant reply. He was expecting Naofumi to get angry or guilty, but here Naofumi was, not even giving a shit. "Seriously?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. I can't remember anything from my past life. It's only bits and pieces. I've never been to this... university you speak of." The Shield Hero replied, looking at the ceiling with a forlorn expression. "It's been too long since I thought about it anyway…"

"W-Wha…?" Motoyasu didn't know what to think, but the words he said made him genuinely more curious. "Naofumi… how old are you?"

"Good question." Naofumi shrugged. "I haven't aged a day since I arrived here. Does that fill in more of the mystery?" He asked in a tone that made Motoyasu look away, like he was intruding in personal details and information.

"..." That only made the Spear Hero grimace.

"Tell you what: I'll tell you something about me, and that's all you'll get from me tonight, okay?" Naofumi compromised, hoping to not derail it any further. Motoyasu looked at the man and nodded, wishing he would get more, but nodding at the deal. "Alright. The thing I'll tell you about me is…"

"Is…?" Motoyasu insisted, seeing Naofumi dragging the silence to an unnatural degree. It was only after around ten seconds of silence did he answer.

"... that I'm a legacy player." That made Motoyasu facefault.

"Not funny!" The man snapped at the Shield Hero.

"Heh."

"Shut up!"

"But do you know what a legacy player is?" That got Motoyasu's attention.

"N-No… Emerald Online never had any mention of that." He muttered, which made Naofumi roll his eyes.

"I told you to get rid of that 'gaming' mindset, lest you get yourself killed." Naofumi offhandedly commented, which made Motoyasu grip his fist. But the man quickly turned serious. "A term I coined, by me and me alone. But one who is a legacy player is, in fact, a player in this little 'game' world. One where he has 'played' over the course of several long spanning sessions. In short: this legacy player has been playing longer than you have. _Much _longer that you could ever imagine."

"Much… longer…?" Motoyasu uttered, rendered speechless. Naofumi has been on here much longer? How much longer? How old was he? _Who_ was he? So many questions began to run, so much so, that he sat down from the loss of strength from his legs. But before he could be overwhelmed by the questions, something moved in the wind, and the Spear saw Naofumi's stick pointed at him.

"Save the thinking for later, lest you go insane. Keep it up, and it will get you killed." Naofumi warned. "You… and your little kid."

"W-Wha…?!" Motoyasu felt his heart skip a beat as he looked in his inventory. Seeing that it wasn't there, he looked at Naofumi, and in his hands was an egg on a cushion.

"H-Hey! Give her back!" The man jumped and grabbed the egg on the cushion, in a possessive manner. Landing on his two feet, he began to pet and caress the egg. "There there… daddy's got you…"

"Hmph." Naofumi rolled his eyes. It wasn't the creepiest thing he saw in his life. "Take care of that egg. It's going to be your only companion for a while." With that, the Shield Hero turned around and began to walk to the door. "And remember what I said…"

"Huh? What words…?" Motoyasu asked, looking up to the man.

"Grow up. This is the real world, with real people, just like you are." Naofumi advised.

"W-Wait! What about me being a Hero?!"

"So? I haven't seen you be a Hero. Have you done anything heroic?"

The man stayed silent.

"That's what I thought."

* * *

************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!************

* * *

**When you make original plot, these chapters tend to take longer than usual. Usually, bouncing ideas helps me with making better ideas.**

**Yes, THE PLOT IS THICKENING! WHO IS NAOFUMI?! WHAT SORT OF PAST DID HE HAVE?! WHY ISN'T HE HATING ON THE HEROES LIKE IN THE ANIME?! THESE QUESTIONS, AND MANY MORE, WILL COME... later.**

**Yes, I'm giving Motoyasu more of a spotlight than Ren and Itsuki. The reason: he gets shit on a lot. Sure, he's unable to make his own decisions, so why not have him be the first to wake up from his own detriments? Have him be a better man?**

**Yes, he also got an egg.**

**Yes, I finished Shadowbringers. Holy shit, I'm crying.**

**No, I'm not being lenient on Naofumi's decision to break the game. The major things he does and chooses has consequences awaiting him. One of them was cut off the Three Heroes' source of reincarnation, which will be huge and major, later on in the fanfic. Having the Pope brainwash the entirety of Melromarc will also have consequences. And the things he has done in the past... look, there was a reason he was in the Desert Prison.**

**Yes, two new characters make their appearance. Who can they be? I ain't telling yet, but their mannerisms and the blatant hints I gave you should be enough for you to figure out.**

**And for the big question: No. Naofumi isn't a time traveler... but he has lived long. Very long. Super long.**

**Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review, a favourite and a follow, and maybe a PM, for I am always open!**


	16. Chapter 16: Trust Broken

************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!************

**This one took me an ungodly amount of time. It didn't help that Shadowbringers raiding and Extreme Primals were a thing. E1S sucks...**

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_Fighting in this world always felt so darn restrictive and, dare I say it, orthodox. Ever since I was attached to the Legendary Shield, it was always attack for 1 damage, take no damage, repeat. The world around me had those kind of physics, and while Siltvelt gave me party members (if you could call them party members, as they felt like increasingly obedient slaves and bootlickers), it wasn't what I had in mind. They always... fought for me in a sense, something that I should, in all intents and purposes, be allowing, but deep within my golden heart, where the soul is silver, I wasn't._

_And so, I began to search for the 'unorthodox'. The 'unconventional'. Because I want to fight too. I need to... I didn't want anybody to fight for me, so I sent them all back, and began to find new ones. Many of them I found on my travels, while others from Siltvelt that I sent away found themselves attaching to my hip, not at my feet. People... that I will cherish for a long long time._

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 2_

* * *

"_Nuh-uh! No way am I purchasing ANYTHING from you, let alone slaves!" Motoyasu vehemently rejected the offer that Beloukas just offered, waving his hands in front with denial. His voice carried throughout the dark and empty circus tent like an echo, before he was shushed by the Shield Hero._

"_Shut it, you fool…!" Naofumi harshly whispered at him. "Do you want us to be found?" That made the Spear Hero shut up, as he, along with Naofumi, Rino, who was holding the Spear's hand, and the slave trader Beloukas walked along the pathway leading to another part of his inventory._

"_While I understand that you turned down my offer, I would appreciate it if you lowered your tone." Beloukas warned. "Wouldn't want you to scare anybody or bring any unwanted guests."_

"_Erm… right. S-Sorry" Motoyasu calmed down, feeling a little embarrassed. The portly man waved it off, until they came across what looks like a square box, holding a plethora of eggs. _

"_This, my valued customers, is the offer that I present to you: my monster egg lottery." Beloukas announced, in a not-so-loud voice, to the Heroes and the mage girl. "Here, you can pick and choose from a plethora of eggs, each one being a bargain deal just for you: 150 silver each. It can range from filolial, an eagle, a snake, a panther, to maybe even a dragon, the rarest one! Just press your luck on the egg, or eggs if you have enough moolah, of your choice."_

"_Ooohhh…!" Motoyasu liked the sound of that offer, his thought process churning on the idea of having three pets that could help him in battle. Looking through his purse however, that illusion was shattered he only noticed that he had around 200 silver coins left. "Huh… thought I had more coins."_

"_Shouldn't have spent it on luxuries, nor have let that bitchy princess of yours handle them for you. For the record, you are not getting any money from me." Naofumi sternly informed, which made Motoyasu bristle a little at that._

"_But-?"_

"_No." That made the Spear Hero deflate even more than his spear. 'Ugh. Shoulda known he would ask. The nerve of him.' Naofumi thought, before grabbing an egg from the lottery and giving a two gold coins to Beloukas. "Keep the change. It would take too much time."_

"_Hmm! Such a pleasure doing quick business with you, as always!" Beloukas smiled, pleased by Naofumi's quick and done deal. _

"_Wooow, I never knew you sell monster eggs here…" Rino looked quite fascinated by the arrangement of eggs inside the box. "But... I thought that the monster eggs only came from farmers and breeders."_

"_They also come from poachers and game hunters, who hunted the parents. Many would use the eggs for food, but I can tell someone here uses them for profit instead." Naofumi eyes the portly man, who only smirked in reply._

"_You could say that, but I see it more as a rescue operation rather than poaching, m'yes?"_

"_Believe what you want." The Shield Hero sighed as he put the egg in his inventory. While Naofumi was finished with his, Motoyasu couldn't even choose one._

"_Uhhh… ehhhh… hmmmm…" The man was hovering his finger over the eggs, unable to decide on which egg to choose. Them being in the same colour due to an illusion spell did not help. "Augh! So many eggs!"_

"_Hurry up! By the time you're done, we'll be up to our necks in soldiers...!" Naofumi scolded the Spear Hero._

"_Alright alright! Easier said than done, dammit…!" He replied hastily, then went back at trying and failing to choose the correct egg for himself. _

_Naofumi rolled his eyes, and then turned his attention to the waiting girl. "Rino, follow the path ahead once Motoyasu is done. I'll be waiting there when you're ready."_

"_Make sure to close the lid when you're done, little girl." Beloukas advised behind his back._

_The girl quickly nodded, seeing that Naofumi pointed her in the right direction, and went back to helping Motoyasu indecisively choose his pet. The Shield Hero went ahead with Beloukas into the darkness of the circus tent some distance away, until they reached a separate cage, with one occupant leaning on the wall._

"_Hmm… She's sleeping." The slave owner noted to their captee, but Naofumi narrowed his eyes at the loose end he needed to tie, before he transformed into __**Machinist**__._

"_No, she's not." Naofumi said, his 'gun' cocked and aimed at the sleeping body, but before he could pull the trigger, a knife was thrown towards his face, which he caught and threw to the ground. It was also the fact that her __**Status**__ showed no __**Sleep **__debuff, so Naofumi was ready to block instead of strike. "See?"_

_The shadow, who was fake sleeping, was on her feet, her crouched body indicating that she threw that knife. "I daresay.. It's you..."_

"_Yes. Me." The Shield Hero narrowed his eyes at the woman, noting the accent. "So what is one of the Queen's Shadows doing here? Is she plotting against me too?"_

"_N-No! I daresay, it's not like that!" The shadow vehemently denied, still wary of Naofumi's 'barrel' aimed at her face. "The Queen isn't fighting against you, Shield Hero. I daresay, she's actually on YOUR side!"_

"_...How so?" Naofumi suspiciously added, insisting for the woman to continue.  
_

"_She knows that you were falsely accused, which was a big part of the High Priest's grand scheme, I daresay. He has been against Her Majesty all this time, due to their beliefs to the Shield Hero. However, with the offensive stance he has been taking to ensure that you were killed, along with the enslavement of the Three Cardinal Heroes, I daresay she has tasked me to find you and help you escape back to Siltvelt." The Shadow informed, Naofumi and Beloukas absorbing it all in._

"_And I'm to join her, as per her 'request'?" Naofumi clarified, with a bit of a hard edge in his voice, something that both the Shadow and Beloukas noticed._

"_Y-Yes… if that isn't to your liking, I daresay." The Shadow stuttered, seeing the man give a piercing glare at her. A long silence ensued from the last time she spoke, until..._

"_Screw you and your Queen's lies." Naofumi snarled, firing a shot, barely missing her legs. The Shadow jumped in surprise and clung to the back wall of the cage. "There's no way I'm trusting the royalty in Melromarc, not even the Queen."_

"_W-W-What?" The Shadow exclaimed, an irony considering she was supposed to be silent. "B-But the Queen's on your side, Shield Hero! She has no reason to deceive or hurt you, I daresay!"_

"_Except cause a ruckus and allow a coup to happen in Melromarc in a situation that is clearly out of my hands." The man replied with such cold indifference and suspicious that it made her tremble. "I couldn't care less about her 'royal summoning'. It's more or less a ploy to have me come to her playing field and have me executed, am I right?"_

"_B-But…"_

"_If I may, Shield Hero," Beloukas came to the defense, surprising the Shadow. "I think you should trust the young lady and her Majesty."_

"_You too?" Naofumi asked, but then remembered the night Beloukas reapplied the slave seals. "Don't tell me. You're a part of the 'Her Majesty's Secret Service', aren't you?"_

"_That's… not what the Shadows of today are coined to be known as…" Beloukas stated, not knowing where exactly that early 1970s name came from, but that wasn't the point. "...but from how you worded your response, I guess you can call me a shadow as well, working in the employ of the Queen. Rest assured, Lord Shield Hero, this one here has come to deliver the message to you and then take you to Her Majesty."_

"_Again, I don't trust the royalty of Melromarc, no matter whose mouth it comes out of." Naofumi responded with much cold fervour, to the point of going too far with his next sentence. "For all I know, the Queen of Melromarc might be like the last one."_

"_Last one? What are you talking about?! The XXXI brought stability and prosperity back to the kingdom!" The Shadow snapped._

'_The XXXI? Huh, time must've flown.' Naofumi thought to himself, before speaking up. "No, I'm talking about the XXVIII." _

_That only caused shocked silence between the Shadow and Naofumi; even Beloukas looked absolutely gobsmacked. Nobody in their right minds would ever speak of the Queen in such an appalling manner. Suddenly, the Shadow's fists slammed onto the bars, wanting to hurt the Shield Hero with her own two hands._

"_YOU CRETIN!" She roared at the man with righteous anger. "How dare you compare our majestic queen to that miserable tyrant! I daresay I would hurt you with these hands for your blatant disrespect for our respectful Queen if I wasn't in here, I daresay!" Naofumi was unfazed from the words, but glared darkly right back at her, causing her to flinch._

"_Oh gee, that's too bad." Naofumi sneered. "I remember that she was the main instigator of the war 150 years ago between humans and demi-humans. Manipulating the heroes for her own personal vanity and gain, and now she's been doing the same thing, using the Heroes as her unaware pawns to reach some sort of true end to her goal." _

"_W-Wha-?"_

"_So tell your Queen to shove it." Naofumi finished up, before turning heel towards the exit. "I'm not going to waste my time with that horrid bitch. I'll make the damned Priest, that slut of a princess, and the King Royal Asshole himself fall to their knees myself if I have to." The man left, the two Shadows stunned speechless._

"_I-I dares-say... __Did… he just call our Queen a… a bitch?" The caged Shadow muttered, unbelieving of the situation that has transpired and the words that the Shield Hero has said. It felt like toxic poison dripping down her back, making her body shiver and her jaw on the floor. All hope felt lost to her as she fell onto her knees, unable to accept what has happened in front of her. However, before she could dwell on it further, she noticed the slave trader, unlocking the cage. "W-What are you doing, Beloukas?"_

"_Tell your Majesty and the younger Princess what has transpired here," Beloukas informed the Shadow quickly._

_"W-Wha...? I-I can't..."_

_ "Yes you can!" The slave trader encouraged, making the woman widen her eyes, shocking her out of her slump. "You are a Shadow! You have a duty! Relay the news. Plus, tell her that my theory about the Shield Hero… about THIS Shield Hero... is correct." The Shadow, which hesitant, gathered her bearings and nodded, before she disappeared into the shadows with all haste to get out of the town. Beloukas smiled his usual smile, as he heard a pair of footsteps coming in._

"_Where's Naofumi?" The voice of Motoyasu asked the portly man. Turning his head, he spots the Spear Hero and Rino walking to him._

"_He went ahead. Come, we should probably join-."_

_Suddenly, the sound of rapid footsteps came from the dark hallway that led to the exit of the circus to town. From the darkness emerged a rushing Naofumi, a panicked expression on his face._

"_Quickly!" He shouted at them, grabbing their arms and rushing to the sluice entrance._

"_L-Lord Naofumi?" Rino stammered as she was being dragged, but Naofumi didn't stop._

"_Is it an attack?!" Motoyasu shouted, starting to panic._

"_No, much worse! Now GO!"_

**.o0o.**

"I do wonder what the whole urgent news is about…" Raphtalia wondered out loud, as she, Keel and Ake walked towards the early morning roads of Lute. A few rebel knights were running towards the front gate.

"I do wonder too. Although it might just be Étoile. She can get hyped up for no reason from time to time." Ake sheepishly commented.

"Really? So you were friends with her back in Melromarc?" Raphtalia asked, curious about their relationship. Ake was hesitant in nodding, in which the two demi-humans could sense.

"Y-Yeah... to an extent I guess...?" He tried to word out as best as he could, but Keel decided to address his hesitation.

"What do you mean 'to an extent'? You two seemed like two really good friends." Keel wanted clarification, but Ake was still hesitant.

"Y-You girls would laugh..." Ake muttered, but Raphtalia, as the gentle soul, shook her head.

"Of course not, Ake. We've been training together for more than a week, and yet we've become closer than ever." She reassured, making Keel smile brightly.

"O-Oh! Right..." Ake blushed in embarrassment, but nodded all the same. "Well, it's not that we aren't friends... but it's like... she's been watching over me rather than me watching over her..." That got the two demi-humans understanding. Keel smirked at those words: it sounded just like her, Raphtalia and Naofumi.

"Oh really~? Sounds like you admire her a lot from having her watch over you~." Keel teased a little, making Ake blush from those words.

"H-Hey!" Ake stuttered and blushed. "I-It's not like that!"

"Suuuuure it is~!" Keel replied in a sing-song voice, and then imitated a certain axe-wielder. "_And I never stopped believing in you, Ake…!_"

"Shut uuuup!"

Raphtalia rolled her eyes with a smile, watching the two of them act like siblings. _'We really grown closer ever since we met Master Naofumi…' _The raccoon girl thought, watching the banter with a bemused expression. "Don't be like that, Ake! I'm sure Étoile likes you too."

"I don't know…" Ake moaned out, feeling unsure of himself.

"Why are you being afraid? I'm sure she likes you!" Keel slapped his back playfully.

"Hey!" Ake recoiled from the slap and glared at the wolf girl. However, his expression suddenly transformed into despondency. "It's… it's probably nothing like that…"

"Then why, Ake?" Raphtalia asked, noticing his expression.

"I just… feel out of her league… that's all. A respectable fighter who can prove her strength... and there's me, a newbie who couldn't fight properly before meeting Naofumi..." Ake felt even more downcast from saying it. A respected bulky axe wielding warrior to a guy who is shorter, uses a shield and not even part of the knights anymore; it made Ake feel like he was dragging Étoile down.

Raphtalia and Keel stopped and looked at him with pity, knowing exactly how he felt. Secretly, they were harbouring feelings of admiration and, some would call it, crushes on their master Naofumi. But recently, after his display of power and dominion over Motoyasu and the Church's lackeys, new feelings began to pop up.

Feelings of uselessness.

'_Does Master really need us?'_ Their thoughts rang in their heads. Naofumi didn't need a sword to cut down Motoyasu. He didn't need two fists to take care of Malty and the Church. Those thoughts began to make them shiver in fright, the thought of being tossed away once their deed was done… it is something they hoped won't come to pass.

"Ake!" A voice snapped the three brooding party members out of their misery, and looked at the owner of the voice. "You missed it, but get over here! Somebody wants to see you!"

"Huh?" The three of them drawn their eyes to a happy Étoile waving at them, along with a familiar face smiling at them. Raphtalia and Keel looked quite surprised by the face, but Ake looked three times as shocked and ten times as happy as they saw the newcomer's face.

"Vice-Captain?!"

**.o0o.**

A figure jumped through the foliage of the forests in high speeds. She was exhausted trying to dash through to another kingdom in such a short time, but it was urgent that she delivered the message posthaste. Soon, she arrived at the tall walls surrounding the kingdom. The gatekeeper at the front, a big man with ears, claws, nose, fangs and a stubby tail eyed her.

"A Shadow, eh? Queen Mirellia's, right?" The bear man asked in a gruff voice, which the Shadow nodded.

"Yes. If you please…"

"Say it."

"S-Say what, I dare ask?"

"Ah. There's the phrase. Queen and Little Princess's personal shadow." The bear man acknowledged, which made the Shadow blush a little. With that said, the large demi-human nodded and, with a snap of a hand, two demi-human shadows emerged from thin air.

"Blindfold first." They both said in unison, and the shadow nodded, taking off the mask and putting on the blindfold around her eyes. The two demi-humans grabbed her and disappeared into the wind.

In a castle, a regal-looking woman in a purple dress was looking through her drawer. Soon enough, she felt the wind shift, and noticed the three occupants in the room. Turning her head, her eyes saw the three Shadows, one of them belonged to her group.

"Queen Mirellia." Both demi-humans addressed politely, although one's addressing felt like the politeness was forced. "Your… messenger… has arrived." With that said, both of them vanished, leaving the Queen's Shadow alone with her master.

"Your Majesty." The Shadow bowed her head.

"What news do you bring?" Mirellia asked in a stern tone. "And tell me: why have you come back empty-handed?"

"It is as you have feared, Your Majesty. Your kingdom has been taken over by the High Priest of the Church of the Three Heroes. I daresay, Your Highness Aultcray is allying himself to stop the Shield Hero."

"I see..." The Shadow didn't raise her head, but she could hear Mirellia's hard gaze and her fan crunching in her hand. It sent a shiver down her spine; a rarity in her line of work. "But you haven't answered my question: why isn't the Shield Hero with you?"

"Your M-Majesty…" The Shadow took a deep breath, before pressing on with the crucial details. "The Shield Hero… He escaped Melromarc just fine, but… he has chosen not to join me into meeting you. I daresay, he has chosen to fight His Highness, Princess Malty and the High Priest himself."

"What…?" The Queen was baffled at what she was hearing. "I can understand the Shield Hero wanting to fight, but…" To deny help from the queen and the knights and Shadows she has taken with her? It was, in a logical sense, unquestionably foolish.

"Your Majesty, I dare ask... if I may have the permission to speak freely…" The Shadow asked. The Queen nodded, and she stood up, looking at the purple-haired woman in the eyes. "What the Shield Hero has said… I daresay, it was disturbing. His reasoning to not join you… was in fact… he doesn't trust you. I-I daresay... he compared you to… the XXVIIIth queen of Melromarc."

"T-The… XXVIII?" The Queen stepped back from that message as the colour left her face. Her breathing became rapid and her hands became numb, to the point of hyperventilation. So many questions were running through her mind, along with the grave insult the Shield Hero has given her. "The Shield Hero… h-he compared me to… to the XXVIII? The Tyrantress?!"

It was the first time the Shadow saw the Queen broke her collected composure and see the panic in her eyes. It looked horrifying; to see the Queen close to a breakdown like this… "Your Majesty! Please, I daresay, calm down!" Her words went unheard, as the Queen was close to hyperventilating, until...

"Mother?"

A young voice caught their attention, as both heads turned to the worried glance of a blue-haired girl, hiding behind the door. "Oh… my daughter…" The Queen began to calm herself down at the sight of her daughter. The little girl rushed to her mother's side.

"Mother…? Are you okay?" The girl asked with concern.

"Yes, I am, Melty. Don't worry." The Queen knelt down and pet the girl, smiling down like a mother, not like a queen. "Now run along. I'm talking with your favourite Shadow right now." The Shadow in question awkwardly waved her hand to Melty, who nodded and smiled. Complying, the girl walked out of the rooming, giving one more smile towards her mother and the Shadow.

"Your Majesty…" The Shadow noticed the Queen's gaze lingering on the door. Mirellia's expression almost looked forlorn and worried, before looking back at the Shadow.

"I'm alright now." Mirellia murmured to her. The Shadow nodded, although she had a feeling that it was the , it wasn't her place to ask. "Anything else to report?"

"The Spear Hero, one of his companions, and even Beloukas broke off from Melromarc to go with the Shield Hero." The Shadow informed, before remembering what Beloukas wanted her to do. "Ah…! I daresay, I almost forgot…"

"Speak." The Queen calmly commanded.

"Beloukas demanded that I tell you this: his theory was right."

"Theory…?" Mirellia breathed out, before remembering the words of the suave, portly man, none of them could be believable… until now.

"_That Shield Hero… he may be the same one more than a century ago."_

**.o0o.**

'_What's with the commotion…?'_ Naofumi thought to himself as he exited the mayor's office. Motoyasu went into a different direction, hoping to find Rino. His eyes scanned around and noticed the townspeople looking at soldiers he hasn't seen before… _'Wait… that's the rebel uniform… but that soldier… I don't recognize him... and he looks a little pale...'_ The man kept walking, observing the people of Lute.

"Naofumi!" He heard his name called, and he turned his head towards the source. There was Ake, in tears, running up to him in happiness, like if someone call their dead parents alive again. Raphtalia and Keel were running up to him as well, happy as well. "There you are! Quick, come with us!"

"Hey! Let go! What the…?! What happened?" Naofumi felt himself dragged by the others. Other onlookers saw their Shield Hero being dragged along, and thought it was cute. Soon, they reached up to a teary-eyed Étoile talking with someone, someone who made Naofumi raise an eyebrow.

"Is that…"

"Vice-Captain! I brought him!" Ake called to the two of them, who turned their heads. The young man tried to push Naofumi towards the man, but the Hero shook him off.

"I can walk." The Hero sternly told him, before walking warily to the Vice-Captain, complete with the same hair and scar on his face, the man who miraculously survived in the 'rebellion'.

"There you are, Shield Hero!" The man spoke, his voice a little more hoarse than usual, as he walked up to the Hero and offered a handshake. Naofumi, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes suspiciously, almost as if he was staring at an enemy. His gut screamed at him, saying that something was wrong.

"..." The Hero remained silent, keeping his glare towards the Vice-Captain, realizing that something was really wrong. The demi-humans and humans dropped their smile, a little concerned.

"Master Naofumi? What's wrong?" Raphtalia asked, holding his arm.

"Yeah! What's with the glare?" Étoile demanded to know, putting her hands on her hips at the sight of Naofumi treating her idol with silence and suspicion. "He fought tooth and nail to come back after the rebellion, just like you said! How could you be so silent like this?"

"..." But Naofumi saw differently. Sure, the Vice-Captain looks a little paler and his touch can be a little colder, but Naofumi saw something different. He saw it before…

**.o0o.**

"_Yeah, but I just know the Wave will be nearby tomorrow."_

"_Really? How do you know?"_

_Naofumi was looking out the window, narrowing his eyes. Ake probably couldn't see it, but Naofumi could. Beyond the cliffs of Lute, above the sky, was a red cloud. It looked like distorted noise from a television coloured and dyed a menacing red._

"_I just do, Ake. I just do."_

**.o0o.**

"_Hey, one of you. Was there anything inside that caravan?"_

"_Yeah, that priest guy. What happened to him? Huh? What's this orb?"_

_Naofumi and Étoile saw the red orb. It glowed a menacing red, but Naofumi saw it differently. It was the same red distortion aura around the orb._

"_DON'T TOUCH IT!"_

**.o0o.**

And it was the same thing with the Vice-Captain. A scarlet aura, akin to television noise, covered the man's body, as if he was being controlled by those same elements. Not wanting to be fooled again, Naofumi grabbed the man on the armor suddenly and forcefully, and used a skill:

"**Repel!"**

The others, except for Naofumi and strangely the Vice-Captain, were blown back a few feet, as Naofumi rippled off the chest plate of the Vice-Captain, which confirmed his suspicions. Étoile and Ake recovered from the mild shockwave, and saw both men standing there.

"Shield Hero! What was the meaning of that?!" Étoile angrily demanded, before looking at the Vice-Captain… and promptly gasped and screamed. Ake looked at the Vice-Captain, wondering what Étoile was screaming about, and screamed as well. Raphtalia and Keel gasped at the horrific discovery on why Naofumi did what he did.

The Vice-Captain had a gaping hole through his rotting torso, and it looked like it bled out hours ago.

"H-He has a hole in his gut!" Keel screamed out in horror.

"W-What the?! Is he dead?!" Raphtalia shouted, her eyes widened in disgust.

"That's what I thought." Naofumi glared at the man, who now adopted a dead look in his eye. Around his torso were the same red distorted noise-esque aura that he saw from the first Wave and from that orb from before. "You died long ago. Who is the puppeteer behind the corpse puppet?" Naofumi demanded, pulling out his 'rapier' stick and pointed at the dead man, before he smiled.

"**Who indeed?"** The man's voice was different now. It was more raspy, and more sinister than before. The Vice-Captain's movements became more zombie-like, with a dark visible aura seeping out like miasma. His eyes turned dull and dead, and his skin decay spread throughout his entire body. With surprisingly quick movements, the undead Vice-Captain vice-gripped the nearest person, which was Étoile, and pointed his sword at the catgirl. **"Now then, let's not get too hasty, Shield Devil, lest you wish to want me to kill you all and destroy this town."**

"W-Wha…? Who are you?!" Raphtalia yelled at the man, pulling out her sword, but Naofumi raised his arm to block Raphtalia.

"You work for the High Priest, right? So what do you want?" Naofumi glowered at the man, who only smirked.

"**Mmmm, good question~." **The man's sly voice irritated Naofumi. However, it sounded nothing like a holier-than-thou person that belonged to the Church of the Three Heroes. **"I could just blow you all up, with my 'rebel' soldier corpses, but that isn't part of the plan for the Church. So why not drop the stick and go with me, Shield Hero Naofumi, back to Melromarc to face God's judgement?"**

"You're… you're horrible!" Ake snarled out, enraged at whoever was using the man he looked up to. "Let my Vice-Captain go! And when I find you, you'll wish for death!"

"**Yeah yeah, I heard that before!"** The puppet blew off the threat, tightening his grip around the struggling Étoile and pointed his sword at her chest. The voice laughed maniacally as he stared at Étoile's struggling face and Ake's angered face. **"AHAHAHAHA! That's the face I wanted to see!"**

"You… you monster…!" Keel angrily shook from the sadism the man was exuding, before the Vice-Captain's eyes were drawn to Naofumi.

"**Now then… what do you say, oh righteous Shield Hero?"**

"Go right ahead."

The others looked at him in horror, while the Vice-Captain narrowed his eyes.

"W-Wha… Naofumi?!" Ake stuttered in dread. "What are you saying?!"

"You really think that I'll bend knee to your demands? You're the kind of person who won't even follow through with his own deal." Naofumi snarled at the man, refusing to follow through. Ake widened his eyes, before looking back at his Vice-Captain. Naofumi didn't seem like the man who would make a deal with the damned. The man behind the puppet looked a little perturbed.

"**Well, this is a surprise. But how will you even attempt to stop me before I can give the command? There's no way you can do it!"** The puppeteer challenged, which made Naofumi spring into action.

"**Twin Air Strike Shield!"** Two green ethereal shields appeared out of thin air, between Étoile and the Vice-Captain, and between Étoile and the sword, separating him from her without the sword going through her gut.

"Ah!" Étoile stumbled, with Ake catching her. Raphtalia and Keel sprung into action, launching a slash and jump kick respectively. However, the Vice-Captain was surprising acrobatic, and dodged the attacks, weaving around like liquid.

"Stay still, damnit!" Keel roared, getting angrier. Her attacks became more ferocious, but ultimately, the Vice-Captain kicked her away. Raphtalia was distracted by Keel being launched out, that she was thrown backwards, landing on Keel.

"**Hmph, trivial now."** The puppet sneered before looking at Naofumi. **"Say goodbye to this village!"**

"Don't think so!" Naofumi responded, selecting his new job from the shard he got from Beloukas.

**Occultist**

**Let the chaos of the damned spread like poison, throw off the cursing chains of fear and let others embrace the cold touch of death! Uses wands, staves and cudgels.**

"**Seal away the evil ideals, and freeze your holy voice with those who invoke with silence! Seal Command!"**

A purple black light engulfed the puppet's body, making him freeze and look at his own hands in shock. **"W-What?! I-I can't command my puppets anymore!"** The puppet's voice cried out with surprise. Suddenly, an explosion appeared near the village, however it wasn't from the dead corpse soldiers. Fire was being launched from the sky, as if it was from an attack.

"An assault. They led them here…!" Naofumi noted. Taking advantage of the surprise the puppeteer was having, Naofumi grabbed the second job shard he gotten from Motoyasu, and changed to it.

**Summoner**

**Make pacts with the creatures you come across and they will aid you in battle! Evoke the power of otherworldly beings of nature! Uses tomes, wands and staves.**

"**Let the indomitable earth made manifest, protection for our allies, woe betide our enemies to provoke the colossus of the land! Golem!"**

The earth ruptured and cracked open, as the rocks began to sword and form a giant golem creature, twice the size of a house, and much akin to a gorilla. "Go! Whoever is the threat outside of the town, destroy them!" The golem nodded and did a huge jump across the town, towards the border. He then turned to Étoile and Ake. "Étoile, how many of those soldiers came with the Vice-Captain?!"

"A-Around twenty… why?" The cat girl looked shaken, but still readily able to fight.

"We'll find them and destroy them!" Ake reassured them, taking the girl and running towards the town. Naofumi nodded, before turning to the angered puppet. "As for you…"

"**Tsk… I was hoping it would be easy. But this town will be your tomb!"** The puppet Vice-Captain roared out, before the two of them charged.

* * *

************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!************

* * *

**Whew... that took way too long. I'm sorry for the delay.**

**Yes, both Heroes got pets. I wonder what they got.**

**Yes, the Shadow had some screen time, and so did the Queen and Melty. Wanted to introduce them in here.**

**Yes, the Tyrantress, the XXVIII queen of Melromarc, is an OC, but also related to the story characters since she is in the past, and an ancestor of Mirellia. Why the Queen felt like she was getting a heart attack? Well, it's... 'exaggerated, but natural' to be compared to an unlikeable tyrant and dictator by a famous person.**

**Yes, the Tyrantress is exactly how you think she acts, and exactly who you think she emulates. A reason for that much later on. And Naofumi seems to have history with the Tyrantress. Again, a reason for that much later on.**

**Yes, the red noise-like aura is something that Naofumi can see. When you spend a long time in this world, you tend to see things others can't see. And when it relates to the Waves of Calamity, you can probably fit the pieces together.**

**Yes, the feelings of inadequacy will come up as a plot point for the three of them: Ake with** **Étoile, Raphtalia and Keel with Naofumi. It does beg the question: why keep them around if you're already powerful enough to fight for yourself?**

**Yes, there was a reason for that floating orb from the second Wave of Calamity, not to call back to FF14, destroy all credibility to the Three Heroes, and make Naofumi a badass.**

**No, there is no class that can bring back the dead, unless you want zombies. Only one person can bring back the dead.**

**Yes, I introduced two classes. Occultist, because nobody ever does a mage that does curses and poison spells yet, and Summoner, because reader's choice award. Think of it as an apology to make you guys wait.**

**No, it ain't Titan. It's a generic giant golem. Slow and lumbering, but can make huge leaps in distance.**

**Yes, Filo will come. Hold your filolials.**

**Yes, I knew that animals had a natural closeness to Naofumi, but not all animals do. **

**No, no Warrior of Light allowed. Just jobz.**

**Hope you enjoyed this long overdue chapter. Remember to favourite and follow, and leave a review, if you want me to respond to you in here! You can still suggest any jobs and job combos that you like!**


	17. Chapter 17: Bloodlust Awoken

**************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**************

**Question for you all: Do you like it when Motoyasu has more screen time in this chapter than Naofumi? Legit question.  
**

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_People have always said to learn about the world and the people around you to help you learn about yourself and your co-existence with others. I always took that lesson to heart, but sometimes things don't always go the way I want. Humanity, humans in general, were almost adverse to me, like I'm sort of plague, despite being human myself. Even after I helped them, I could remember the looks they gave... and yet I wasn't bothered by it. It was like it never bothered me, as if a voice inside told me to '**let them hate, for it makes me stronger**'. Odd..._

_Demi-humans were the only way to go and, oh boy, they were completely mistreated for... simply existing. They were willing to fight for me, even at the mercy of racist assholes who want of nothing than to see others suffer. I vowed myself to defend anybody who was being persecuted against anybody. Why fight against each other when the Waves of Calamity were essentially holding the world hostage into being destroyed? I would see that answer for myself, the moment it began._

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 3_

* * *

_**CLANG!**_

Two weapons clashed, a shockwave of power coming in between the stoic Hero and the maniacal undead puppet. The two of them kept trading blow for blow: a small cut appeared on Naofumi's cheek and a shallow slash on the puppet's cheek. It didn't stop them, as Naofumi changed to **Assassin** and thrown a smoke bomb that engulfed the both of them, making Naofumi completely invisible. The undead Vice-Captain, however, only chuckled.

"**Don't think that will help you! Absolute Precision!"** The puppet's voice rang from the shrouding cloud, and with one strike, the cloud blew back and dispersed from the force, with Naofumi, in **Shield Hero **form, blocking the strike with his shield, albeit just barely. The blow knocked them both backwards.

"**Absolute Precision**…?" Naofumi muttered, glaring towards the puppet's dead eyes. "That's a skill the **Bow Hero** can only use. Just who are you?"

"**Heh, wouldn't you like to know, Hero?"** The puppet taunted, moving erratically before rushing in for another strike. Naofumi raised his shield to block and parry, along with many more flurries. With the buff, no attack was ever going to miss, and the attack will land on the attacker no matter what. The only option was to block.

"Master!" The voices of Raphtalia and Keel shouted in worry, seeing Naofumi pushed back, and both of them began to rush in.

"**Oh, right. Forgot about these interferences."** The puppet snidely sneered, before pushing away Naofumi and kicking away Keel and parrying Raphtalia's sword strike in tandem.

"Grr…!" Raphtalia snarled, going nowhere from the parry, while the undead Vice-Captain smirked and gave the raccoon girl a solid punch in the face. Despite being undead, the punch had enough force behind it. "Ghuagh!"

"**Say goodbye, trash!"** He readied a stabbing motion on his sword, aiming to kill.

"**Holmgang!**" A red chain shot out from his hand. It ensnared around the dead man's body and dragged him into Naofumi's grappling arms. "Raphtalia! Keel! Run to the border and defend the village!" The man told his slaves, who hesitated greatly at his words.

"B-But, Master-!"

"Go! The people here are your biggest priority!" The man shouted at the two, before the Vice-Captain, surprisingly and horrifyingly, turned his head 180 degrees with a sickening smile.

"**Toxic Breath!"** The living dead roared out a dense green breath right on top of Naofumi's face, making him let go and gasp in pain while holding onto his face.

"Gaaughh!" The Shield Hero gagged in pain, his face burning slightly from the acidity as the green gas covered his face.

"MASTER!"

The Hero stumbled backwards, with the puppet throwing some slashes onto the man, damaging him, making Naofumi cry out in pain. **"HAHAHAHA!"** The undead voice laughed maniacally, before he was forced to dodge Raphtalia's slash.

"You MONSTER!" The girl roared, slashing wildly at the limber man, his taunting grin and her frustration causing her to miss her strikes.

"**Heh, this is who you've been training, Naofumi?! I'm frankly disappointed! How deplorable! How WEAK!"** The puppet roared, turning his attacks on her. Raphtalia couldn't dodge his quick strikes and resorted to blocking, but that wasn't her strong suit, and soon, she was getting all sorts of nicks and cuts.

"Ngh…! You..!" She tried to speak out, but was lucky to block a strike that would have taken her head. The force blew her away, launching her to the ground due to the sheer force.

"Raphie! DAMN YOU!" Keel roared and ran towards the man, jumping up in the air and sailing towards the man. **"Hurricane Kick!"** However, the man simply ducked underneath and swung his blade towards her, which would have taken her leg, if not for Naofumi, now cleared of the poison.

"**Intervention!"** A damage-reduction shield appeared around Keel's body, reducing the damage she was taking. Still, at least her leg wasn't cleanly sliced, and she was launched backwards, towards Raphtalia's direction.

"**Hmph, this is why you shouldn't be treating demi-humans like actual people, Naofumi. They can be so rash and easy to exploit, if you aren't careful~."** The Hero growled at his words, but also perturbed.

"How do you know my name? And how do you know that much about me?" The Shield demanded, glaring at the puppet. The puppet laughed from those questions.

"**You wanna know about little ol' me? I'm nobody special!" **The puppet exclaimed, loving the frustrated look on Naofumi. **"Only someone who knows about you, Naofumi, personally, and who was hired by that High Priest to wanting you dead. That's all."**

That made a lot of red flags rise in Naofumi's head. Who was he? How could he know Naofumi personally unless… he was someone that was from his time? Before he could dwell on it, Raphtalia and Keel got up.

"Master!" The two of them ran to their master, but **Walls** rose between them and Naofumi.

"What did I tell you? Go and check on the front gate!" Naofumi told them.

"But-!"

Suddenly, a fireball soared through the sky and landed on one of the wooden houses. Citizens were fleeing from the destruction, screaming and wailing for help. "Damn! **REPEL!**" Naofumi screamed out, forcing a shockwave powerful enough to make the ground crack slightly. Raphtalia and Keel were blown backwards, far away towards the front gates of the town, while the undead man was blown away, not as far away, towards the wall of a nearby house.

"**Hmph, you really think pushing your allies away will help you win? You can't even do anything with your shield alone!" **The puppet jeered, readying his sword while pulling himself out of the debris.

"Guess again, puppet." Naofumi snarled, swapping to **Fencer**, gripping his 'rapier' stick in his hands. "With them out of the way, I don't have to worry about collateral damage."

**.o0o.**

The zombified soldiers roared as they hobbled towards the pair of knights. Ake blocked five of them with his shield at a time, with Étoile beheading only two with her ace. However, one could tell, her heart wasn't in the fight, as the other zombified knights, who took the hit, only staggered a little rather than having their heads blown off, before continuing their onslaught.

"Ngh! To think that these men we trained with… to become mindless zombies…" Ake said to himself, continuously blocking and swinging his sword at the opposition. While he harboured no positive feelings towards the knights, he still felt pity for their fate.

Étoile didn't say anything, but instead felt a lot of hesitation in her swing, which should have sliced through them cleanly, but her arms were shaking. "I know… it's just… these men were once..."

"HEEEELP!"

A scream cut through the air, with Ake and Étoile turning their heads. Running towards the source, they spotted a little girl, being cornered by an undead soldier, aiming his sword towards her. "HELP MEE!" She screamed, ducking her head and looking away in fear as the sword dove towards her head…

"**Shield Charge!"** Ake charged in, shoulder-tackling the soldier with his shield onto the floor. The girl gasped, not expecting to be saved. "Run! Get out of here with the others!"

The girl hesitated, until she saw the exit of the town, being defended by what looks like a mage girl firing wind magic towards a couple of knights. She looked at Ake and nodded before she ran, but not before being cut off by other stumbling zombie soldiers. "AHHHH!" She screamed in fright once more.

"NOOO!" Ake cried out, outstretching his arm, until someone dashed with incredible speeds towards the soldiers.

"**Onslaught!"** Étoile rushed in, tackling the soldier to the ground. If the soldier was a regular human, he would have had his bones broken. Swinging her axe in a circular motion, with newly found resolve, she easily cleaved the heads of the two soldiers, killing them for good. With the heads falling, the corpses laid dead, as the girl looked up to the warrior demi-human.

"You… you saved me… again…" The girl looked up in wonder to the two knights, but remembering the knight's words, she turned and ran to the group of survivors being rounded up. Étoile could only look at the little girl, with a reminiscencing stare.

"Étoile, you okay?" Ake walked up to her, after cleaning the clock of that zombie he tackled, and looked at her. It was as if she was having an inner conflict, which was new for Ake to see.

"It's…" The woman couldn't even speak. She just… couldn't believe the situation she was in. She believed in the Vice-Captain unconditionally, thinking everything is going to be okay, and because of that, both Ake and Étoile were fighting many of their old comrades, along with the two other precarious situations they were both in before that. It was because of her that Lute was in danger, and her heart began to feel wretched and heavy with guilt, as if she had started it. As if it was all her fault. "It's… nothing we should talk about now. We have other people to rescue." She calmly told Ake, before running to another section of town, hoping to clear her former unit of zombie soldiers.

Ake tried to reach out to her, but she was too fast. He tried to think on what was wrong with her... but deep down he already knew what was wrong; he was just trying to deny it. His hand retreated back, feeling as if he stepped on a landmine, considering he just saw tears brimming from her eyes before she left to fight to the rush, and shook his head. He'll talk to her later about it, until he rushed in, knowing that more people were getting hurt by the time he took contemplating.

**.o0o.**

"MAMAAA!"

The voice of a little girl alerted Rino and the mother, along with several other citizens of Lute who got out of the town and left at the rear exit. The mother, overjoyed, rushed to the girl and hugged her tight.

"Ohhh my little girl! Don't ever scare me like that again!" The mother blubbered out, both of them with tears streaming out of their eyes.

"Mamaaaa! I promise! I promise not to leave you again!" The girl hugged the mother like her life depended on it. Nobody could blame her.

"Is that everybody?" Rino asked, seeing the people around her look at her and shake their heads.

"No, I don't see the mayor anywhere!" One of the townspeople, the apothecary in particular, mentioned, making the village panic. The other people then noticed that only half made it out of town, and the others were still there in Lute, now being made into a warzone.

"I'll go in and search for them!" The girl tried to rush in, but began to hear marching from the side. What she saw made her body and heart freeze with cold dread.

"Well well. Seems like we found'em!"

"It's time! Let this crusade begin!"

'_Knights!? Melromarc Juvenile Knights?!'_ Rino screamed in her mind, seeing the knights in the distance. Many of the townsfolk began to panic, with Rino being no exception. The men then got into formation, drew their swords out and yelled their battlecries, charging towards the populace of Lute.

"CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!"

"FOR THE THREE HEROOOOOOES!"

Their delusional cries made many of the public scream, as Rino hid her head in fear, not ready to feel iron down her gullet, until-.

"**Lightning Spear!"** From the side, a mysterious spearman rushes towards the platoon, spear bursting with light in hand, and crashed into the leader. "You foul knights! Get away from those townspeople!"

'_That voice…!'_ Rino recognized it, along with the heroics. She opened her eyes and spotted the Hero she once served. "Lord Motoyasu!"

"There he is! The Spear Hero!" One of the soldiers called out. "Just like the Pope said!"

"He's being brainwashed by the Shield Devil! Eradicate him!" The leader of the knights platoon ordered, and the knights began to attack Motoyasu. He spun his spear and jabbed at a few knights, knocking some of them down in the process. While the knights had numbers, Motoyasu had range, swinging his spear at a distance, again knocking some more soldiers away.

"I won't let you slaughter them!" The Spear Hero declared fiercely, as he charged his next attack. **"Shooting Star Javelin!"** The man formed projectiles around his spear and chucked them towards the knights, attacking them with a multitude of explosions. However, he held back, trying not to kill them. They may be his enemies, but they don't deserve to die. It was a mistake that would cost him dearly.

However, as the smoke cleared, the knights got back up, with heavy damage. "Y-you… fiends! SHOW THEM NO MERCY, MEN" The leader roared, and suddenly, the knights began to glow golden. Their wounds healed, their stats increased, and they bellowed for no mercy. Something Motoyasu was shocked about, before being blown back by their strikes.

"AUUUGH!" Motoyasu cries out in pain from a cut across his upper arm. The fight simply turned around in just a few short seconds. "Dammit! I won't let you hurt them! **Chaos Spear!**" The Spear Hero thrust rapidly, attacking with a multitude of rapid strikes. Yet despite dealing no damage, Motoyasu continued to fight back, swinging and thrusting his spear towards them, but it was like hitting a steel wall. "Grr!" He dropped to one knee, his dominant arm now limp and the pain becoming too much to continue attacking. "Dammit… the pain feels so… real…"

"Being brainwashed with the Shield Devil must have weakened this Spear Hero heavily...! He should have put up a better fight at least..."

"Keep him alive for the High Priest then. Kill the rest of them!"

"LORD MOTOYASU!" Rino cried out, before trying to charge up a spell, until the battle cries of the knights distracted and deafened her words as they rushed towards the townspeople, their faces filled with malice and death. With a pained Motoyasu unable to move on the side, and a full view of the oncoming slaughter, the man outstretched his arm in desperation upon seeing the girl that saved his life close to being put to death by the horde of knights.

"RINOOOOO!"

It felt like time was literally slowing down. The soldiers charging towards the panicking populace, both of them slowing screaming or running away from them. And all Motoyasu could do was watch in despair, trying to limp towards Rino, trying desperately to hold his spear, until he heard a voice.

"**Do you trust me?"**

A voice echoed in his head, sounding very much like Naofumi. In fact, it almost sounded like it was an echo of his voice. Motoyasu felt confused at the question, until he remembered that Naofumi asked that question to him. He hasn't given him a definitive answer, as he was stuck in the middle.

"_**I can give you strength. I can give you power to protect your friends from being killed. Isn't that what you want?"**_

The words entered into his mind, and the offer this other voice was giving was enticing. While the owner of the voice was unknown and his gut feeling was telling him not to trust the owner of the voice, Motoyasu really had no choice. He gritted his teeth, watching the swords of the knights, slowly going towards the little frightened mage girl, and the civilians, seeing as if he can do nothing.

"_**So I ask again.**_** Be honest with me, Motoyasu. Do you trust me?"**

The voice repeated the question using Naofumi's voice, with Motoyasu nodding without hesitation. "Yes! Yes! Anything to protect them!"

Suddenly, he felt strength returning twofold. His injury began to heal itself quickly, his health and energy restoring. What was different, however, were new skills now opened up for Motoyasu. "Huh?" He looked at his new skills in his HUD menus, surprised by the new additions, but he had no time to waste. Time felt like it was slowly going back to normal, so he took no time…

...and leapt.

**.o0o.**

"Ughh…" A moan from the wolf girl came out of her mouth as she slowly got up from the ground. Thankfully, she didn't sustain damage from the repel, but it still hurt, and she was a little dizzy from the launch.

"Keel, you okay?" The voice of Raphtalia made her dizziness slowly go away, as the wolf girl's eyes slowly focused on her friend standing beside her, looking with concern.

"Y-Yeah. Just a little nauseous, but we gotta go back to Naofu-." Keel replied, but their words were interrupted by the sound of a fireball launched.

_**WOOSH!**_

Their eyes turned to a fireball from the sky, landing onto the town, and their heads turning towards the entrance of town, spotting soldiers and mages, all of them with a Melromarc symbol on their capes and cloaks.

"Soldiers? Here?!"

Raphtalia looked surprised at the sight of the platoon of soldiers. What were they doing here? Are they with that puppeteer who's controlling the deceased Vice-Captain? Were they hired or followers from Melromarc?

"Gwahahaha! Burn the heretical village down!" A voice guffawed as his mages began to charge another fireball. However, they were interrupted, as Keel rushed in and jump kicked one of the mages.

"Hey!" Hitting the mage square in the head and sending him flying into unconsciousness, Keel caught their attention, many of them surprised and angered.

"So this town is housing demi-humans too?!"

"Hey, wasn't she one of the Shield Devil's slaves?"

"Yeah! That means that same Devil must be here too!"

Their muttering turned into shouts of death as they readied their arms and formation. Keel smirked at the thought of fighting, while Raphtalia ran up and drew her sword.

"Took you a while." Keel smirked, before charging in. Raphtalia didn't say a word and rushed in as well. While they didn't have Naofumi to help them, the pair were extremely capable to fight alongside each other.

Keel was dealing a brutish offense while weaving and evading other attacks like an acrobat. Punching through the mask of the helmet of a knight with her gauntlet, Keel kicked the man down, before ducking and jumping over another knight's sword swing. Kicking him on her way down, she focused her energy and punched him in the solar plexus, knocking him back towards other knights like bowling pins.

Raphtalia took a more stalwart approach, parrying attacks and countering them like Naofumi. She parried the sword attack from one knight and ran hers down his neck, then ducking underneath and slashed her sword right across the other knight's chest. Feeling the sudden heat from behind her, Raphtalia used brute force to turn and do a full swinging **Sonic Wave**, cleaving a fireball in two. The shockwave continued, cutting down a few mages and knights in the process.

However, both of them were getting pretty tired. They cut down a sizable amount of soldiers and mages, but the remaining knights and the few remaining mages surrounded them. "We got you surrounded! Die for our God!" The leader of the platoon roared out, a golden glow enveloping them and the mages, increasing their stats and firepower.

"W-What the...? That... that move looks like...!" Raphtalia muttered out, remembering back from the rebellion. The golden glow, the humongous rush of power...

_"**The glow in the deep-rooted hearts of man, axis of all power! My powers are yours to command!"**_

This almost seemed like some sort of version of Naofumi's **Aura** spell, when he cast that spell on the two of them. "A power-up?! That won't be enough to stop us!" Keel shouted, being none the wiser, as she came in for another combo, but found herself hitting a harder steel wall, with the knight unmoving. Recoiling, the girl barely managed to dodge a slash from the bulky knight, now powered up.

"Hmph! Now to show you your place, you animals!" The same knight declared, before slowly advancing. Keel and Raphtalia found themselves backed up in a corner from their enemies. The golden ominous glow made them more powerful and almost impenetrable. However, a sudden earthquake shook the enemies and pair of demi-humans, as a giant golem appeared nearby, glaring at the knights.

"Huh?! Where did that thing come from?" One of the knights exclaimed, before seeing the golem rear back and blow a huge dust storm onto them. The knights and mages screamed as they were blinded, the sharp sand cutting into their skin. Strangely, Raphtalia and Keel, who were covering themselves and expecting some damage into them, found themselves completely unharmed.

"Huh?" Raphtalia was confused why it didn't affect the both of them. _'Is this golem… our ally?'_

"Hey! Careful with that!" Keel shouted at the golem, but it only rolled its eyes. However, she heard a clang from behind, only to see Raphtalia block a strike from one of the blinded knights, still crying from the dust in his eyes.

"Focus, Keel!" The raccoon girl scolded, and Keel only nodded in return. Raphtalia turned to the golem, a pleading look in her eyes. "Can you please help us?"

The golem didn't look like he responded, before an amber light surrounded it. Suddenly, spinning shielding rocks appeared around Raphtalia and Keel. Raphtalia and Keel looked confused, before the shielding rocks apparently blocked a strike by a knight from Raphtalia's back.

**Earthen Wall: Blocks a set amount of physical damage without harming the users.**

The girls didn't know that, but anyone, or _anything_ in this case, that helps them is a boon for them. Readying their weapons, they dashed back into the combat, thankful that it has gotten easier.

**.o0o.**

_**SMASH!**_

The ground quaked as Motoyasu landed, an explosion of dirt knocking aside some knights, and even a few civilians, before the dust cleared. Even Rino was shocked into silence at the sight. A knight is seen underneath, bloodied, the spear punctured right through, as Motoyasu growled intensely. However, his focus wasn't on them anymore, and looked at Rino with a smile.

"Rino… I'm glad you're s**a**f**e**… I c**o**u**ld**n'**t** ima**gine** a **pure** and **beautiful** **angel**ic **being** like **you** being **sla**ug**h**t**e**r**ed** b**y** **thes**e** _filth_**..." The man spoke in such a suave tone turning into heated growls and wanting pants, and hugged the young girl in a tight hug, almost too tight.

"Guagh…!" The girl grunted in surprise, before blushing light pink and awkwardly wrapping her arms around him. "U-Uhh, t-thank you, Lord M-Motoyasu… for saving me…" She muttered, before looking at his eyes… and the light pink quickly drained to a pale white.

The man's eyes shined with a deep blue rather than an amber-like red, like she could get lost in the eye's abyss, but something was not quite right about it. His face, on the other hand, looked much more terrifying. His cheeks stretched into a big demented smile, his facial features twitched menacingly, like a rapist would. Some blood that splattered on him gave him the vibe of a serial killer.

"**Do not worry, my little Rino."** Motoyasu spoke in a darker, eerie, yet gentle voice. **"Let me take care of these filth for you. For your safety."** Soon the man got up onto his two feet, pulling the spear out of the dead knight's carcass.

"Y-You! Spear Hero! Don't interrupt our crusade!" One of the knights prattled, charging in mindlessly. It was then, that Motoyasu spun, and cleaved the man's head with his spear. Everybody stepped back from the sudden kill from the usually heroic Spear Hero. A blood drop splattered on Motoyasu's face, and he licked it up, savouring the taste, before anger boiled back up.

"**Damn these filth…!"** He snarled with a large amount of malice, his smile transforming into a heavy sneer, like they weren't worth his time. **"You were going to hurt my dear Rino!"**

"W-What the…! Since when did the Spear Hero get this much power?" One of the knights muttered, as a few of them stepped back from the aura that was being exuded from the Hero himself. A dark blue aura warped the complexions of his royal armor. The steel and golden embroidery began to cover the cloth areas around his arms and legs, colouring them blue. However, the armor began to disappear around his abdominal area, exposing his abs.

"**You won't take her away! Nobody will!" **The man roared out, as his left shoulder area began to morph into a dragon's head, glowing eyes and sharp horns and all.

"Don't be intimidated! Take him down!" The leader barked his orders, and four knights ran towards the Spear Hero. However, Motoyasu only shifted his left shoulder in front of him, doing something nobody expected.

"**Flame Breath!"** The dragon on his armor opened its maw, and out came a fanning wave of white-hot flames, burning the knights alive.

"AAAAUUGGHHH! It hurts!" The knights screamed, stumbling as the fire caught them inside their bodies, making the pain excruciating. However, Motoyasu was having none of that, and simply sliced through them with his transforming Spear.

"**Ah ah ah~. You'll disturb the peace and quiet for her."** The man maniacally whispered, his smile spreading even wider and becoming even more malicious. The blood showered all around, erupting on a reveling Motoyasu and a frightened Rino, who was slowly backing away.

"W-What is he?!" One of the knights stuttered, before being pierced by Motoyasu. The other knights, out of position, off-kilter and extremely scared and intimidated, were easy pickings for the man, overloaded with lust.

"**Hehehehe~! That's it! Bleed for her!" **The man bellowed, swinging the spear like a halberd, as even his weapon began to take a different form. Instead of its rounded shape, red jewel, ivory and gold material, it began to turn sharper. Instead of its rounded edge, it began to become sharper, protrusions coming out from the front like a dragon, metallic wings, an extra point below the main pointed head. The other end became sharper too, thinning like a blade. The entire spear became less ivory and gold, and slowly became more crimson, as more blood splattered onto the weapon. Soon, there was only one person left, the leader of the platoon, as he slowly backed away from the approaching madman.

"Y-You're insane! You've become like the Shield Devil!" The man whimpered, losing all of the bravado immediately as his slipped and fell onto his behind. Motoyasu only had a maniacal face, knocking away the knight's sword before mercilessly jabbing his spear down the man's stomach.

"**DIE FOR MY RINO!"** He roared out, before pulled out the spear, blood showering on him. The man's armor nearly consumed him, except for his head, as it slowly crept up his neck. Laughing, the civilians slowly backed away in fear, but the one who was the most scared was Rino herself. Having to witness all of this bloodshed because of her Lord Motoyasu fighting for… for _her_ of all people… it traumatized her.

"L-Lord M-M-Motoyasu…!" The girl whimpered, which made the man's head turn immediately to her. The girl's heart nearly stopped as the man ran to her and smiled.

"**Y-You see that? My dear Rino, do you see? T-That was all for you!" **Motoyasu madly told Rino, pointing at the carnage. It sounded like he was close to hyperventilating. He opened his arms to embrace the girl, but she pushed him away frantically.

"N-No! Stop it! Stop, m-my Lord! Please!" The girl wailed out, before stepping back, noticing she has blood on her hands, blood that belonged from the massacre. However, that did not sit well for the crazed Spear Hero, whose smile cracked the other way into an angry glower.

"**WHY?!"** He screamed out in anger. **"WHAT MAKES HIM SO SPECIAL?! WHY WON'T YOU BELONG TO ME?! RINO, WHY?!"** The man roared out in desperation. The girl flinched from the screams, but was defended from an unlikely source.

"That's enough, young man." The stern look from the mayor, who later found the two of them after being found and saved, caught their attention as he stepped in between Rino and Motoyasu, a firm gaze at the Spear Hero. "Don't you dare harm the young lady. Can't you see you've traumatized her?" The spearman looked at the old mayor, shaking in arrogant rage. How dare he get between him and the one destined to be with him!

"**You're in my way, old man!"** The Spear Hero raised his spear to kill, but Rino screamed.

"STOOOOOOP!"

That made Motoyasu freeze, unable to go against the girl's words. He backs away a little, still in disbelief, as she was pushing him away.

"Please… Lord Motoyasu… Please, snap out of it!" The girl's voice pleaded. It reached his ears, making him shake a little.

"Please, heed the words of this young girl. Can't you see the damage you've done?" The mayor added, as many of the citizens nodded. It was then Motoyasu slowly began to snap out of it. He noticed the other children hiding their faces, away from him, as the adults looked at him, either with wariness or pity. The mayor's face was hard, but slowly softened at the sound of someone crying.

That person… was Rino.

"I'm sorry, Lord Motoyasu…" The girl whimpered, wallowing in her tears as she began to outright sob. That image stuck in Motoyasu's eyes, before he looked at his bloody gauntlets.

"**O-Oh my God…"** The man stuttered in realisation, shaking heavily. **"W-What… What h**a**v**e **I **done…?" He asked, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. His body wracked heavily, as the blue aura dissipated and the armor retreated, going back to his normal set of armor. Even his spear transformed back. He covered his face with his hands, crying, or rather he was outright bawling his eyes, as he couldn't bear to look back at the destruction he has wrought, despite saving the populace. "I-I'm a monster… W-What have I done…?!"

He felt nauseous, and immediately he knelt down clumsily and let loose the contents in his stomach. The feeling that he killed someone, and that he LIKED it, was beginning to catch up to him. The others' words were like a blur to him, as his brain began to blank out. A notification even popped up in the middle of his dizzy spell, but he didn't read it.

**["Curse Series: Lust" met and unlocked]**

"Lord Motoyasu! Lord Motoyasuuuuu!" The girl screamed out in worry, holding onto the man tightly by the shoulders, but he couldn't hear it clearly. Voices began to echo in his head, like the memories he experienced from the arena.

"_**Damn… to be saved by someone like you? Heh… I must've died and gone to heaven!"**_

"_**Wait, you're turning me down? Let me guess, it's because of the Shield Hero, isn't it? He's… your master?!"**_

"_**Why…? WHY?! How is it that he could catch her attention, but not me?! What makes him so damn special anyway?!"**_

"_**Damn me… How is it I get aroused when I think about her… or rather, her species…? Hehe… Man, is it wrong to say I'm hot and bothered by someone so young…?"**_

"_**Let me go! LET ME GO! Can't you see that she was happier with me?! COULDN'T YOU?! LET GOOOOO! FITORIAAAAAAAAA!"**_

The memories stopped, Motoyasu opening his eyes, almost as if some sort of quaint tranquility was achieved, despite the destruction around them.

"L-Lord Motoyasu?" A small voice squeaked in front of him, and his eyes trailed to a worried Rino. "A-Are you okay…?" She asked, a little afraid he would go ballistic on the citizens. The question echoed in his head, but he felt hesitant. Was he really okay?

"I… I don't know…" He calmly answered, unsure. However, before he could dwell on it further, a giant golden beam of light sprang from the center of the town, aimed through the entrance. Many screamed at the sudden sight. Motoyasu even looked shocked, but Rino knew who was in the center of the town.

'_Lord Naofumi!'_

* * *

****************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****************

* * *

**I'ma keep this short. Chapters will come normally, but not during the 23th to the 27th. Someone like me's gotta take his camping vacation sometime, right?**


	18. Chapter 18: Curse Series: Despair

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****

**And now the conclusion of the Battle for Lute Village.**

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_Many of the citizenry in Siltvelt have spoke that that with the first Wave of Calamity was easy and manageable enough for the Shield Hero to take care of it, lickity split. Whatever that faith was, it was shoved so far up that it felt like a vacuumed void. So when the Wave hit, to say things got effectively fucked over was an understatement. I was overseeing Bossa Nova town, with my party. It wasn't much, but it was something: the energetic cheerful-as-a-sunflower wolf girl that I rescued named Kelga, a pet filolial, a bipedal bird creature as the others called it, whom I didn't name, a polite and sharp hawk demi-human archer lady named Victoria and a young jackass of a turtle beastman mage named Ghido. Both of the latter-mentioned adventurers hailed from Siltvelt when I was summoned, and were two of the companions that went out searching for me when I essentially ditched the kingdom a few weeks back. Gotta say, they were true friends._

_Then the Wave of Calamity happened, and the people were unprepared, despite giving them directions, and in the end, we lost more than just the town and its people._

_I remember the hateful looks that two of the Heroes gave to me: the Bow Hero and the Sword Hero. He could remember the Bow Hero not giving a flying shit about the safety of the town and ordered what seemed to be an air strike with the buff **'Absolute Precision'** on it, hitting most of the monsters, killing most of its inhabitants and even one of my party members Victoria in cold blood; 'for clearing the Wave faster' he gave his excuse. The Sword Hero, despite being powerful and strong __with his **Skyward Strike**, __was a coward, hoarding everything to himself like some sort of king: gold, treasures, raw materials, even experience, after the fights he did not participated in; 'everything... to combat the Waves' he motioned. The Spear Hero, on the other hand, was the one who saved my hide with his Spear skills and **Breath** spells when I was still reeling from the death of my party member; 'do I need a reason to help someone?' he plainly spoke._

_While we all got through it, I now had a huge chip on my shoulder with these Heroes._

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 4_

* * *

In the middle of the town, two men continued to clash, their attacks powerful enough to blow each other backwards each time. Shield and sword clashed on each other as Naofumi and the puppet butted heads.

"**Hehehehe…"** The puppet chortled in such an unsettling way, yet that didn't deter Naofumi. Swapping to **Fencer**, he swung and slashed with precision, but the puppet was too lanky to hit, dodging in unnatural ways. Probably because he was already dead, and bones didn't matter to him. **"Well now, seems like you CAN wield a sword. Or a stick in some manner."**

"It doesn't matter what I wield, puppeteer." Naofumi growled, landing a slash at the puppet's arm, giving him a shallow cut. "Because I _will_ cut you down, no matter how many attacks you send at me."

"**Oh, I'm aware, all right." **The puppet sneered, being pushed back a little from the cut, and being put on the defensive. **"But that's not going to be enough! Flame Breath!"** The puppet drew a breath and let out a sizeable flamethrower out of his mouth, making Naofumi jump back before the flames licked his body. But the flames were only a distraction, as the puppet dashed to him in lightning-fast speeds, but Naofumi was ready. Using the **Fencing Cloth**** Shield**, he gripped the slashing sword's hilt and the zombie Vice-Captain's arm, locking him close before delivering vicious blow after vicious blow on the head, before letting go and jumping back from another **Flame Breath**.

"Magic…? No." The Shield Hero muttered to himself, landing on his two feet. "Those skills. You're not a mage at all."

"**Hehehe, pot calling the kettle black, wouldn't you say~?"** The puppet smirked, standing decrepit yet upright.

You're no ordinary warrior…" Naofumi continued, narrowing his eyes, and his hands twitched a little. "That **Flame Breath** without an incantation… That's a move only the Spear Hero could learn." That made two skills that belonged to the legendary Heroes, Naofumi thought to himself. If he was going to guess the puppet's next move...

"**Very good, Naofumi~. Someone should give you a gold star." **The puppet drawled out, even clapping a few times to drill the sarcasm home. The man then raised his sword high in the sky, glowing an ominous blue. **"Then if you connected the dots, then this move should look familiar! Skyward Strike!"** The puppet commanded, slashing the air to create a shockwave aimed right at Naofumi, who only raised his shield.** "That won't stop it! That skill is a piercing move! Your defenders mean sh-!"**

"**REFLECT!**" A magical barrier conjured in front of Naofumi, reflecting the man's **Skyward Strike** back at the puppet.

"**WHAT?!"** The man dropped his smile for the first time in a while, and jumped out of the way. However, he forgot that the attack had **Absolute Precision **on it, making the shockwave follow him and cleanly slash his leg off. **"NO! AUGH!"** The puppet cursed, falling sloppily onto the floor, his own separated leg beginning to rot now that it was removed.

"Oh yes!" Naofumi took this chance, and changed to **Occultist**, rushing up to the puppet, while a sickly white orb began to form in his hands. **"I call upon the aspect, the weaver of the threads of life and the coffins of death. Lend my aid and capture mine prey! Spider Web!"** The orb was then launched towards the puppet, fanning out into a large sticky web. It then snatched the Vice Captain and sent him captured, spread eagle and frozen, to the floor.

"**GRRGH!"** The man kept trying to wrestle himself out of the web, but it was no use. Without his leg, he did not have full control and strength of the body the puppeteer was in. **"You… How did you…?!"**

"You don't know me that well." Naofumi chided with a mocking glare. "That **Skyward Strike**… it's a magic sword spell belonging to the Sword Hero. It deals physical piercing damage, but it's still a spell." That made three Heroes now: **Absolute Precision**, **Flame Breath**, and **Skyward Strike.** "You… you know too much: necromancy, the moves and abilities belonging to the Three Heroes… Tell me, who are you?! What else do you know?!" Naofumi demanded, aiming his **Fencer** 'blade' at his head, but that only made the puppet laugh.

"**Hehehehehahahahaha…! HAHAHAHAHA! YOU THINK I WOULD JUST TELL YOU?"** The puppet bowled with laughter, like he heard something crazy. **"How moronic are you, really? You really think that I would just let you know who I am, Naofumi Iwatani?!" **The puppet hissed out, not realizing in his anger and mockery that he let out a crucial piece of information.

"...Hmph. So you know my last name then…" Naofumi snarled. Memories of the past began to rage in his heart and mind. Along with knowing Naofumi's name and knowing him personally, this puppeteer has to be not just any person in this time. "_You_ are from a century and a half ago. The time with _me_ in it, weren't you?"

"**Tsk…"** The puppet gritted his teeth at that release of information, but then smiled sharply. The eyes and the cockiness he was exuding gave Naofumi an assortment of feelings: dread, anger, fear, hate, but it all felt so familiar before. **"For a persistent Hero, you've seemed to have gotten sharper. But living more than a century would do that to you." **The man jabbed, which made Naofumi's grip on the stick tighten.

"Firstly, watch what you say, lest you insult yourself as well, shade. Or whatever in the twisted hells you are." Naofumi warned, seeing the man fail to see the irony in his sentence. "Secondly, what sort of damn grudge do you have against me? Did you really have to survive for a century just to kill me?"

"**Oh, I have a lot of things to say to weak worms like you, Naofumi."** The man cryptically muttered to him, smiling even more evilly. "**But you think you have the time to talk...!**

"And what makes you say that?" Naofumi suddenly became suspicious, before he noticed the man's flesh and skin.

"**Because you and this worthless town will never see the light of day AGAIN!"** The puppet roared out, as his skin bloated like a balloon. The flesh began to glow red, and a hot yellow, as cracks were beginning to form. Naofumi widened his eyes, and saw the man become more of an inflating suicide bomb, seconds away from detonation.

"You…!" Naofumi gritted his teeth in desperation, trying to process what is happening. "This is your contingency plan?!"

"**HEHEHEHAHAHAHA! THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE…!"** The deforming puppet just cackled maniacally at the sight on Naofumi's despairing face. **"The despair, the hatred, that weakness laid bare at your feet! I live for that!"**

The Shield Hero froze even more from those words, not from the life-or-death situation at hand… but from the words. It echoed in his mind, the voice that spoke to him at that fated day, on that fated hour, within that fated minute...

_**Does it grieve you, Naofumi, to see the deep depths of your own weaknesses laid bare? To see your comrades turn and bares their teeth again the chattel that you are? To see your precious ones mutilated and be handpicked a fate worse than death by the gods themselves? … Mmmm, that face~... I will remember that face of complete loss and anguish to the day you die.**_

A feeling he was so accustomed to suddenly intensified, to the point of overflowing. Overwhelming pain and hatred began to make the man tense, as a sickly green and black aura began to seep out of his arm, coating the arm completely. Worst of all, am image from his mind appeared, reminding him of the day everything changed:

The image of his beloved, slumped, bloody, raped… and dead.

"Shut up...! Just SHUT UPPPP!" He screamed, shaking in rage and anguish, as the green and black aura consumed his Shield as well, coating it completely.

**[S3lect a cl4ss t0 M3rg3 yo0r sta7 p01n7s w17h t3Mp0r4riLy.]**

Even Naofumi didn't know what was going on, nor he didn't care. The dark green message that popped up suddenly looked to be garbled text to him anyway. A great ball of energy began to form in his hand, as he began to stomp towards the crazed man, bloating into a balloon, breaking out of the web while howling with maniacal laughter as light began to pour out of the bloated man's body. But Naofumi wasn't having any of that. His arm, now completely transformed, looked to be looking like a giant scorpion gauntlet, made of metallic spiky protrusions and razor sharp blades, with the same green aura coming out like steam whistles. Lightning began to erupt from the gauntlet, carving the ground with its green electricity. What made the gauntlet more nightmarish was the shield itself.

A green glowing symbol of an eye appeared as the design, surrounded by a dark circle that resembled a black sun. What seemed like the emitting green light traveled like IV tubes from the shield directly to Naofumi's arm, as if he was fueling the shield itself with something.

**[c1aSs s3l3ct3d]**

**Naofumi Iwatani; Cleric Lv. ****31**

**[Bearer of a Century's Despair] This class now has _Wellspring of Despair._  
**

**HP: 9999**

**MP: 9999**

**SP: 9999**

**STR: 9999**

**VIT: 9999**

**DEX: 9999**

**INT: 9999**

**WIS: 9999**

**LUK: 9999**

"**Hehehehehahahaha! Don't think you can get rid of me so easily! You don't have the time nor the power to even attempt to destroy me!"** The man exclaimed with such euphoric ecstasy, but Naofumi gritted his teeth, the green lights glowing even brighter. His footsteps created large spiderweb cracks, as a glow of dangerously potent light radiated from his gauntlet. Roaring, the light ferociously glowed so bright, it was like a second sun, and the man shoved the ball towards the stomach of Vice-Captain, who was ready to explode.

"Then I'll just OBLITERATE YOU!" Naofumi roared, his emotions now going all out for this one spell. **"O brilliant flash as destructive as the hells themselves! Rend thee with infinite light and obliterate my enemies into nothing! FINAL FLASH!"**

And then the world went white.

**.o0o.**

"GRRR! You can't do this to me!" The last knight roared out, crazed fanaticism and zeal for his religion still keeping him going, despite the rest of his unit either unconscious or deceased on the floor. The golem did quite a number to the knights, from slamming his fist, to casting buffs for Raphtalia and Keel. The man's hands were then kicked, the sword knocked out of them, rendering him unable to attack.

"Gotchu!" Keel smirked, grabbing the man's chest plate into a grapple. She clearly had quite some fun with fighting the knights, but now it was time to clean house.

"Hurry, Keel. I'm worried about Master Naofumi…" Raphtalia said to her. "That man Naofumi is fighting… He seems to be way stronger than he's supposed to be. We need to help him!"

"Yeah, you're right." Keel nodded, before rearing a punch powerful enough to knock the knight out. However, the two girls suddenly felt something heart-wrenching… it was the same familiar feeling that they experienced in the mayor's office. It wasn't hatred. It wasn't rage.

It was despair. An endless abyss of deep dark despair.

And then something unexpected happened. A singularity beam of all-encompassing light, wider than buildings, blasted out from behind them. It came from the center of town, as the beam ran right through the golem, engulfing and obliterating it in a single blow. Not even the dust and rubble survived, as it was completely atomized, like it wasn't there at all.

"AAHHHHHH!" Both of them cried out in horrid surprise, nearly falling on their faces. Even the knight they were holding hostage didn't escape despite being let go. Instead, he watched in wonder and smiled wide, cheering like a miracle has been cast.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Praise be to the High Priest!" He cheered, thinking that this came from the High Priest. Oh how wrong he was.

**.o0o.**

"Princess. Your orders." The knights robotically awaited, the princess arrogantly smirking. A large platoon of knights were stationed in orderly fashion, in front of Malty. The woman sat down on her comfortable and portable seat, which was a knight on all fours acting as her seat, as she watched from down below the town. Noting the fires and destruction, she was bound to win once she sent the command.

"The town of Lute is just up ahead, knights." She informed them, with all of the knights acknowledging it. "We will subjugate it in my name, and capture the traitorous citizens. There, we will convert them into more of my loyal dogs and subjects. Is that clear?!"

"Yes, Princess." The knights replied. Smirking, the arrogant princess gave the command to march.

"Now forward MAR-!"

Suddenly, she felt her hairs slightly singe from a bright like behind her as a giant wall of light roared out, just barely missing her head. The young woman screamed, falling onto her behind, as the rest of the knights stepped backwards from the sheer power. Malty only froze in fear at the sheer power of the light beam, a power that was obliterating nearly everything in its path. Some of the rocky cliff rubble were obliterated instantly, leaving no trace of dust or pebbles. Malty was entranced by the beautiful lights that was shining, cutting the orange darkness with unbending light in the early morning.

The knights, on the other hand… they were in sheer awe.

"Amazing…!"

"This… this is the power… of the holy Light of our Lord…"

"Praise be! The power to defeat the Shield Devil!"

"This must be the work of the High Priest! Such power!"

One would say that what they were saying was completely fanatical and, to another bystander's point of view, completely out of their minds.

"S-Soldiers…" She muttered, shocked at what she was hearing. "This… this is the power of the High Priest?"

"It could only belong to him. This amount of light-elemental magic power." One of the soldiers explained. "The sacred glare of the Lord and His judgement shall be nigh to the sinners and non-believers." Malty only nodded… but something else gripped her heart. Was it really the Pope's? Or was it something else…?

"R-Right." She composed herself and looked at the soldiers. "Then it is clear we are not needed here. Back to Melromarc, and we shall report back to Daddy then!" She tried to look optimistic, but instead sighed to herself. The soldiers blinding saluted, and began to march back to the castle. Two men picked up the woman and used their wide shoulders as seats for her, blindly acting like carrying cattle.

"That power…" She could only mutter to herself, as fear gripped her heart at the sight of it. However, something much much deeper and fouler inside her own heart began to roar something else.

'_**This power… I want it…! I need it…!'**_

**.o0o.**

"W-W-Wh-What is that?!"

The king of Melromarc himself stared at the window with absolute shock at what he was seeing. He was waking up from working in his study, mainly about the growing tensions between Melromarc and Siltvelt, when he felt a rumble in the earth. He made his way to the window, only to drop his jaw at the sight. From the horizon, he saw a wide column of light shoot up from the sky in such a violent yet benevolent and beautific way.

"I-Impossible… Is that… a magic spell? Who would cast such a dangerous spell? Could it be….?" Aultcray asked himself, composing himself, yet his eyes never looked away from the angled column of light. "I need to consult this to the High Priest…" He told himself, hoping it wasn't a threat to the kingdom itself.

Oh how wrong he was.

**.o0o.**

"Is that…? What is that…?"

Queen Mirellia looked completely aghast at the sight of the bright light that came from the west in the early morning, cutting through the retreating darkness of early morning. Immediately, her thoughts were assailed about the safety of her kingdom and her husband and the citizens.

"Mother?" A small worried voice came from behind her. Mirellia didn't have to turn around to know who it is.

"My child, Melty…" The woman softly said her second daughter's name. The blue-haired girl in question walked up to the mother, and then noticed the bright light in the distance.

"W-What is that? Over there!" She pointed at the light, curious, but also a little scared of it, and Mirellia pulled Melty into a hug, her face buried in her hair like the feathers of a filolial.

"I… fear I do not know, my little Melty…" She muttered as her face, not showing the same amount of worry and fright. If it was a spell, a mighty powerful one at that, then Melromarc was in serious trouble.

"Milady! Milady!" A voice called to the two ladies in the room, and the Shadow appeared on the rug, her head bowed. Mirellia quickly composed herself, but Melty had a different reaction.

"My favourite Shadow!" She cheered, before hugging the ninja woman in question. Mirellia gave a small smile, before standing up.

"Melty, please." Mirellia gave a slight scold, causing Melty to back off. The queen then turned her head, looking at the Shadow. "Tell me everything. Is Melromarc… in danger?"

"Your Majesty, I daresay it isn't Melromarc that cast that spell." The Shadow, with her familiar accent, informed. "It was off-kilter, I daresay, right on top of the village Lute, where… sources say… that the Shield Hero and Spear Hero reside."

"L-Lute?!" The woman widened her eyes. A neighbouring village in their territory was being terrorized by the High Priest?! And her husband and daughter were OKAY with it?! The queen didn't do anything except grit her teeth in anger, the possibility that her husband and the Pope were out there conquering lands made her grip her fists.

"So it is true." A calm voice came from behind them. Mirellia turned her head calmly, while Melty gasped at the sudden intrusion. In walked a demi-human in a royal gown, having a long face, with vermillion hair pointing upward like a soft serve. However, the rest of his features were more avian. His hands had claws, and his arms had feathery adornments, much like a harpy. Red wings were attached to his back, as longer feathers came down like a cape. His legs and feet were also resembling a rooster, talons and feathered legs. His smile eased the little girl and the queen, while the shadow readied to pull out her daggers.

"It is rude to enter uninvited without knocking!" The Shadow warned the bird man, but he laughs it off serenely.

"Forgive me for the sudden intrusion then." He replied. Mirellia gave a silent command for the Shadow to back off, and she did just that by sheathing her daggers. "Queen Mirellia, I'm guessing you have noticed the sudden light at the west."

"Yes, Valnar." Mirellia replied as earnest as she could, trying very hard to cover her worries.

"And you also notice that it is coming from Melromarc; your territory that is, yes?" The bird man's face turned serious from that discovery.

"Y-Yes." Valnar could sense the unease exuding from the woman. It wasn't too hard to guess that she was shaking in her heels. Melty even looked at Mirellia worried, as the queen was gripping her face tightly.

"Queen Mirellia." Valnar addressed formally, then knelt on one knee. "We can always hold off the peace negotiations for another time, and you can go back to Melromarc to settle your predicaments now, if you wish." The bird man offered, but the queen shook her head.

"I… I am unsure myself, Valnar…" The woman muttered, with nobody blaming her for her stance in the situation. It was either save her kingdom and risk war, or risk her kingdom to stave war; a big hard choice for Mirellia.

**.o0o.**

"**EEUUAAAAAAUUUUGGHGHHHHHH!"** The puppet screamed in abominable pain, distorted by the blast of radiant light, obliterating him with insurmountable pain. His body disintegrated into nothing, rotten flesh atomizing from the light. What was once a man's desperate scream quickly melted away into a distorted noise, which was assurance of his disintegration to Naofumi. That puppet was getting what it truly deserved from his own hand. However, his body began to tense up, his frame twitching immensely, as the **Final Flash** came to a halt, dissipating into nothing.

There was nothing left of the bloated puppet that was there in front of him. It was only dust. Houses, buildings and even a bit of the cliffside were obliterated completely from the blast, creating only a valley of rough rubble and destruction in its wake. No sound, not even the wind, was heard, as Naofumi fell to his knees.

Immediately the black gauntlet-shield began to shake, Naofumi gritting his teeth in pain, his stomach doing somersaults inside of his body. Soon, he felt himself double over, and he emptied the contents inside of him, a green ghastly liquid coming out of his throat and onto the ground. His eyes dilated in pain, reliving through and through the despair he has suffered, as slowly, the green tubes disappeared, retreating back into the black and green metal. The metal then began to dissolve back into Naofumi's skin, turning into green and black dust, until there was just his arm and his regular **Iron Shield** left. It was then, that Naofumi finally processed what happened, and calmed down.

He was so ingrained in his own thoughts, that he didn't notice many people coming to him, worried about his state. Even his own comrades and friends were part of those people.

"Naofumi!" Ake's voice snapped the man out of his reverie, as he looked up to see the face of the knight that has been with him since his forced departure from Melromarc. Getting up onto his face, albeit with a bit of unsteadiness in his legs, he spots many of the people's worried looks and admirable glances, with Étoile breathing a sigh of relief. Rino looked relieved as well, while Motoyasu looked confused as all hell. However, none were more worried than the two blurs that rushed and tackle-hugged Naofumi.

"MASTER!" They cried out, absolutely worried about his well-being. Keel was openly bawling out like a child, while Raphtalia was a little more composed, but was still letting loose tears. Normally, Naofumi wouldn't have returned the hug, and it was no different now; it was the feeling that was a little different. Instead of being indifferent to the hugs, now it was a slight dislike. The feelings from before felt more… numbing and uncaring.

"H-Hero…" The Mayor of Lute walked up to him, relieved to see their favoured Hero still standing. "Surely that blast of light that came from the puppet must've dealt a lot of damage to you, right? We should-!"

"No." Naofumi interrupted the man, stopping his worried ramblings. "It's fine. That spell didn't come from him after all."

"Huh?"

"How do you fare, Mayor? How's the state of the town?" Naofumi asked, no clear emotion in his voice, changing the subject immediately. Ake didn't notice the intent nor the lack of emotion that he had towards his father, and responded with a little despondency in his tone.

"Stable for now, but nearly half of the people of Lute… did not make it." He responded, his expression falling. "We got most of them, except for a few that set off, and some were caught in the crossfire."

"I see." He simply confirmed, no emotion showing on his face. "See to the injured then. We leave immediately after." Naofumi commanded his party, and began to walk off, preparations to set off in his mind.

"A-Ah, wait!" Étoile spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "Please… don't leave yet!"

"And why shouldn't we leave yet?" Naofumi asked, not caring what the reason was.

"Help us… The dead need to be buried. The injured need to be healed… Won't you spare even a small amount of time, Shield Hero?"

"Ugh…" The man sighed, not out loud enough to show his disgust and disregard. He then tried to swap to **Cleric**… only to be barred. _'Huh?'_ The man raised an eyebrow, and tried to select **Cleric **again, only for him to not transform into a **Cleric**.

**["Curse Series: Despair" Penalty: The class you have used to power up with _Wellspring of Despair_ is now unavailable for 48 hours.]**

"Damn... Of all the classes, why that one...?" He muttered to himself with worry, with Raphtalia and Keel looking at him oddly.

"Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia anxiously called out his name, only for him to direct his eyes at her for a moment, then back at Ake. Pulling some things out of his pocket, he gave him all of his highest quality deep red health potions and Revivifies in his arsenal and gave them to the knight and the cat warrior.

"Make the injured drink the potions." He instructed to the two of them. "Those on the verge of death, give them the clear blue Revivifies. One per person, please."

"O-Oh. Alright." Ake acknowledged, but found a little odd about Naofumi's new tone of voice, as did many others. However, they took it as tiredness. He did tank a column of judgemental light… did he?

Raphtalia and Keel on the other hand looked at Naofumi's retreating form, slowly walking to the edge of the ruined town. "E-Er, Master!" Raphtalia tried to call to him, which made him turn around.

"Help them." Naofumi commanded them without any questions, leeway, or any room for them to speak.

"Help? You mean-?"

"Yes. Now leave me be." The man slowly walked to the fields, as the two girls looked at each other with worry, as if what they felt from before, was no mere tiredness.

* * *

******THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Also changed the Shusaku ambassador's name to Valnar, which was the correct translation from Werner in the novel.  
******

* * *

**Whew! Got back to my groove on this one! Hope you like it!**

**Yes, Naofumi's and Motoyasu's Curse Series have finally been revealed, and it is much like the Seven Sins. However, these ones are going to work a little differently. One: only one sin per hero. Motoyasu is only going to get Lust; not Envy. Who are the other four that are left over? We will see. Two: the sins work differently in this universe. Not only are they drawn to the excess of that sin, but they will also be tempted by a voice, looking for them to submit to the cardinal sin. With Motoyasu, it was losing the one last person that still believes in him, which was Rino. In a way, it could be seen as lust for the one who accepts you (look at Mr. Sohta from _Misao_), but it can be a big stretch. Three: Motoyasu's Curse Series weapon does not have an appearance, so I made my own. It resembles a dragon, protecting and coveting the thing (or person) it desires, like Smaug and his treasure. The Breath attacks will give Motoyasu other options other than physically attacking with his spear.  
**

**Yes, that puppeteer knows who Naofumi is, and closer and closer can we discover who that person can be!**

**No, Skyward Strike does not belong to me. It belongs to The Legend of Zelda, but it works in that context. Same for Final Flash. That belongs to Dragonball Z.**

**No, I'm not forgetting about Beloukas. His lack of involvement is completely intentional for next chapter.**

**No, I do not have a basis on what the Curse Shield looks like. The only comparison I can make is Bane and his TITAN formula from the Batman series.**

**No, Malty's darker thoughts at the end of her segment is going to build up in the VERY LATE parts of the story. If you read the light novel, then you'll know exactly what I mean.**

**No, Werner isn't an OC. He's from the light novel, a representative in Siltvelt.**

**No, I did not give Motoyasu more screentime, thankfully. Hope that staves off the haters.**

**Now then, it's your favourite part of the fic! TIME TO CHOOSE! _It's pretty obvious that Naofumi is going to get a new class, but which one should he get first?_**

**\- Dark Knight, a warrior with peerless skill with a greatsword, and the use of dark arts make him a powerful threat, at the use of his own HP.**

**\- Holy Knight, a knight with superior power, graceful with the sword, and the power of the holy sword arts create a powerhouse attacker.**

**Who will win? Vote now on reviews!**


	19. Chapter 19: Aftermath

******THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!******

**I'm back from my canoe trip. This one may be a little shorter, but it was more of a crunch for time.**

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_The Light that the Three Heroes exude is ever radiant and warm in its embrace in our path to benevolence and valor. A path while gripping with trials and tribulations will grant the path towards everlasting paradise in the heavens above, for the Three Cardinal Heroes as the judges of all actions that every single mortal has done. The Three Cardinal Heroes, while fair, each favour a special trait. __The followers of the Three Heroes Church must uphold and reflect these traits to our own being, to be like the judges of man and beastman alike._

_To be proud and judicial as the Bow Hero..._

_To bear strength and tenacity like the Sword Hero..._

_To have heart and loyalty akin to the Spear Hero..._

_To combat the destruction of the Shield Hero._

_\- Second Chapter of "The Word of the Three Heroes," Author unknown,_

* * *

"_URRGGAAAAAHH!" A man cried out from the bushes near the mouth of the mining cave, where he was hiding from. He gripped his jerking body as if he was suffering from an unbearable heart attack, being racked in phantom pain. It was like the searing pain of a thousand suns burning away his puppet body his own consciousness was inhabiting. Since he felt the pain the puppet felt, there was no wonder that the attack transferred over to his own real body. His eyes dilated, his body shook, as he slowly began to sit up, but fell down on his arms and head due to the pain. His breath was laboured heavily, but he leaned on his legs and looked up from where he was. And then suddenly, he began to laugh._

"_Hehehehehe… hehehahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA~!" The man maniacally guffawed, as if he had just experienced death, and absolutely loved it. His eyes followed the giant beam of light that had just obliterated his puppet body, and grinned from ear to ear at the sight. "Well well, Naofumi. You continue to impress me. Even after everything that has happened to you, you still manage to pull something out from within your pockets..." He smirked, watching the beam impressively destroy everything in its path, disintegrating the golem and splitting the sky in two with its radiance. However, he sensed a presence behind him, and his eyes darted towards the back. "Well well. Come to die, have you?" He smirked, turning his head around, spotting a man walking towards him._

"_I finally found you." The top hat portly man Beloukas said, walking and revealing himself to the crazed lunatic. "I would have never thought that this so-called 'necromancer', if one would call you that, would be the legendary so-called 'prodigal genius'. But to target such a specifically small town like this..." Beloukas smirked, while giving a hard stare at the man behind his spectacles. In his hand was the lantern glowing menacing in his hands. "Now answer me this: what does the famed genius tactician of Faubley want with the Shield Hero?"_

**.o0o.**

Footsteps in the grass, rustling in the wind, tickled the legs of the lone Shield Hero trudging through. They somehow feel so much heavier than what they used to feel like hours ago… Why did he feel like this? What was this feeling?

Oh, right he did remember that feeling. The same dark and empty feeling that plagued his mind in the office of Ake's father, right before the coup de grâce against Motoyasu. It was...

'_Despair…'_

Naofumi worded it out in his head, his teeth gritting from the phantom pain in his arm. He could still feel it: the **Shield of Despair**, attached to his face, sucking away his inhibitions away, powering him up to destroy what was in front of him… for revenge. All the pain and suffering just slipped away the moment he released the trigger and fired, and at that point, everything became numb, and he felt nothing but the rawest of satisfactions. And the more despair he shouldered, the more satisfaction from the revenge he will get… right?

'_Revenge… do I really want revenge…?'_

**Do you really want revenge?**

He wasn't surprised when he saw the message pop up from the Shield's crystal. Looking at it now, it was a question that he should be figuring out.

"...Perhaps."

**Perhaps? That's not a good enough answer, you know.**

Narrowing his eyes at the response, he changed the subject. "Who are you to judge anyway? Mine actions are mine alone, so leave it alone."

**I'm stuck on your arm, so of course I will judge. Deal with it.**

"..." Naofumi didn't say anything to continue the conversation and just began to walk off, but the pop up messages just kept appearing.

**Oh no you don't. You haven't answered the question. Do you really want revenge? At the expense of others? At the expense of the friends you made?  
**

'_Ugh…'_ Naofumi growled, before letting his true thoughts out to the shield, who was honestly irritating him heavily. "Of course I do. You know it. I know it. They all should know it! They killed all my loyal friends, spreading rumours and lies! They turned all my friends and the other Heroes against me, in their attempt to ruin my good name and keep their social power! They dropped me in the Desert Prison, an inescapable void of nothingness, for years!" The man ranted on and on, slowly getting more angrier as the words fell out of his mouth. And as soon as it finished, nobody said a word. Much like how destructive rage and vicious hatred can be deadly and damaging, it's of no importance if there was nobody around.

**…**

The pop up literally showed the ellipses, as if it was taking it all in. Naofumi didn't utter anything back, and proceeded back to walking away his thoughts, until the pop up responded before he got his first step in.

**Is this all because they killed **_**her**_**? Your wife? Your unborn child?**

_**SMASH!**_

The Shield Hero literally punched right through the pop up message, feeling like a blood vessel burst in his head. Gritting his teeth, the man felt fiery anger and cold hate towards his own weapon. "Don't you DARE speak to me about it! You think I don't know why I do this? You dare think that what I'm doing is a petty and foolish quest?! You don't even know me!" He snapped at the weapon, slamming its rim on a tree. His body tensed, his own rage dissipating into the same retching feeling inside of him. It didn't really respond back in the most conventional way, but he felt like his surroundings change. The grass became flaming wood, the trees transforming into stone rubble burning away from the sudden heat, the bright morning sky warping into a dark night illuminated by the fires around him, and in front of him lay the familiar dead body that made Naofumi even more tense.

**Oh, I've known you for years, Naofumi. I'm surprised you forgot. Some Shield Hero you are.**

The body in front of him was the same he saw for years on end, the torment he had to suffer and endure, the nightmare that was continuously haunting him for more than a century… the body of his dead mutilated wife lying there.

"What of it?" He swallowed at the sight, but remained vigilant at the sight. He has seen this for decades, so he has grown numb to it. "YOU'RE just a shield. A tool, like everything else. So shove it." From those words, the illusion disappeared, and Naofumi breathed deep, looking at his surroundings, now noticing just where he was: the foot of Lute's once abandoned crystal mine shaft. It certainly looked a little more used than the time he and his party entered in. What was he doing here? He didn't know...

"Urggh…" A voice nearby groaned in pain. Naofumi snapped his head at the direction, which was inside the cave, leaning on the wall.

"Beloukas…?" The Shield Hero looked at the portly man, and noticed what sort of state he was in. He looked horrible, from his bloodied arms, to his broken form, but was still alive. One of his arms were mangled and bent the other way, while one of his eye sockets was bleeding through his own blackglasses.

"A-Ah… Shield H-Hero…" The man struggled to speak in his professional tone, before coughing out a bit of blood. Naofumi tensed up, not just because of the sight of the man bleeding in front of him, but because he could do nothing, since his **Cleric** class was locked up. The same sort of helplessness he felt before…

_**Do you really want revenge? At the expense of others?**_

_**Some Shield Hero you are.**_

"No… I can't let you die just yet." Naofumi muttered, before picking up the portly man, and dashing off back to town.

**.o0o.**

"_Heh. So you do know me. Should have expected it, coming from one of the heirs of the demi-human slave trade market." The man smiled, his blue eyes narrowed towards the portly man. It was pretty obvious who this man was, Beloukas thought, as his attire was definitely more advanced and Faublian. He had a flashy onyx jacket with golden accoutrements, along with belts, golden buttons, blue jeans and boots on his lower body. A bandana adorns his head, along with royally short blonde hair, his bishounen face, and a cocky look on his face. "Tact Arusahorun Faubley, at your service, Sir. Now then-..." The man couldn't finish, as he jumped out of the way as spirit fire blasted the grass where he was standing on._

"_I know. You murderous rapscallion, don't you dare think you will get away with all of this!" Beloukas snarled, his eyes losing the professional vibe and becoming more hardened and angry. It was the first time in a long time he felt like this. Was it because he was dealing with a difficult and prodigious foe? Or was it due to his personal feelings? He continues to volley fast spiritual fireballs towards the man, blasting him like a machine gun, but the man was like a blur, still cracking the smirk._

"_Oh? Were you talking to me? Or the worms in the dirt?" Tact taunted the man. Beloukas only responded with charging a bigger one towards the man and launching it towards the man, who only smirked as it exploded. However, the smoke cleared, and Tact was nowhere to be seen. Beloukas looked left and right, knowing he wasn't done yet._

"_Too late!"_

_He heard the words behind him, and Beloukas didn't need to think twice. Waving his hands over his lantern, he casted a __**Phantom **__spell, turning completely intangible and immune to physical attacks, and saw an adorned claw go right through him, doing no hard. "Aww, how boring!" Tact bemoaned, before seeing Beloukas jump out of the way. "You think using your family's powers is enough to take me down? You have to be as stupid as your brethren."_

_The __**Phantom **__spell disappearing, he tipped his hat down with a frown adorning his face. His eyes were strictly narrowed towards the claw. "You say that, yet you don't hesitate to use the legendary weapons you have stolen from other more 'adorned' heroes, specifically the Legendary Claw." Beloukas remarked, the sole gauntlet on Tact's hands shining, almost menacingly._

"_Didn't you hear? I won this one fair and square, away from those brainwashed fakers they had the audacity to call themselves heroes, and be given a genius king like me!" The man complimented himself, flexing a little and looking at the Legendary Claws and his arms. "Hahaha! If you saw their faces, you would have totally agreed! Beating them as they slowly begged for surrender… that gives me such bliss..." If he was any more arrogant, he would probably be kissing his own biceps, one would wonder. He was into his own praises, that Beloukas knelt down and enigmatically touched the floor._

"_Hmph, spoken like a true bloodthirsty child, king of his own vanity." Beloukas insulted, standing straight and standing at Tact, which definitely got a reaction out of him. His face twisted sourly, his snarl at full force._

"_You… you did not just say that!" Tact stomped on the ground like a child, gripping his claws tightly. The slave trader, with his wide smile, chortled a little, seeing him like this._

"_Oh yes I did." Beloukas continued, readying for what was gonna come next. "After all, you''re conclusive proof that your God has a sense of humour." He taunted, his lantern igniting into flames as Tact roared. _

"_**Super Acceleration!" **__His claws began to glow, covering his body, before the man charged right towards Beloukas with super fast speed. The slave trader would have been fatally wounded, if not for the high-leveled trap he subtly placed on the ground. Claws instantly grabbed the prodigy, holding him in place and stopping his acceleration. "W-What?!" The man widened his eyes, as the claws began to attack and claw him continuously. "Gaaahh! My clothes! My skin!" Tact cried out in distress and pain._

"_Shame you didn't noticed the __**Dreary Cell**__ trap. Now…!" Now was Beloukas's chance. A dark aura appeared around the lantern as he waved his fingers and channeling mana into it, preparing to cast a spell._

"_**The rancor of the lost feeds and consumes you…**__"_

_Tact widened his eyes at what he heard, and gritted his teeth, fighting his way out of the grips of the claws._

"_**...the screams of the fallen invade you…**__"_

_Tact released his hand out of the trap, and placed his hands on his chest, before Beloukas could finish his spell._

"_**Synchronize!**__" Tact cast on himself and Beloukas. A tethering light appeared between them, and suddenly, Beloukas felt a lot of pain. The damage that was being inflicted on Tact, was now also affecting the slave trader, easily making him writhe. Claw marks and scratches were appearing on the man's skin and clothes. "Heh, don't you dare... finish that…! Lest you wish to die as well!" Tact warned, as he was waiting for the man to give up and stop the spell by saying something other than his incantation, but that didn't deter the man._

'_No… Because I will kill you, my life be damned, and my debt will be paid… to you…!' Beloukas roared in his thoughts, before quickly saying the rest of his incantation despite the pain._

"_**...now the pain of everyone's grudge shall be your doom!**__" Beloukas roared, as the black miasmic aura blasted towards Tact who widened his eyes at the slave trader's audacity. "__**Karma!**__" A spell that deals more damage the more damage and death the target has caused, exploding on Tact's chest. The direct hit caused him to be launched from the cave's mouth, over the town and towards the foliage of trees, away from civilization._

_However, the same could not be said for Beloukas. His chest felt the same pain, and boy, was it painful. One of his arms felt limp, along with his leg, and blood was spurting from his deep cuts. It felt like there was a literal hole in his chest, as the man felt like his entire being was heavier than bricks._

"_I've… done it…" He told himself, before he limped into the cave wall and leaned there, his eyes feeling quite droopy… As he looked up, he thought he saw the man that he had respected a long time ago… A man his father and forefathers have been telling him about: the man who has been their respectable customer centuries ago._

"_Ah… Shield Hero…"_

**.o0o.**

"Is that… everybody?" Rino breathed out, a little tuckered out and somewhat low on mana as she finished with the last of the injuries. The other patients were resting and thankfully going to recover safe and sound. Raphtalia and Keel were helping with bandages and basic first aid with the other townsfolk, while Ake and Étoile were checking on their fellow squad survivors. Conversation was brewing inside the inn, now used as a makeshift hospital. As Rino looked around, seeing the last of the patients lay resting on the makeshift bed, she smiled, the once dreary atmosphere now replaced with a little bit more liveliness, as conversation between patients and helps were common. Some were offering their prayers, condolences and even their shoulders to cry on when that isn't enough, others breathed out their own sighs of relief and cried with happiness as their own family survived the ordeal.

"Yes. Thank you, young lady." The mayor, who walked towards her with a smile, lauded. The girl smiled from the praise, but noticed someone was missing.

"W-Where's Lord Motoyasu?" She asked in confusion, with the mayor dropping the smile.

"The Spear Hero? I'm not too sure." He mused. "The last time I saw him, he was-..."

_**SLAM!**_

The front door suddenly slammed open, with a Naofumi carrying a limp Beloukas in his arms. "Rino!" The Shield Hero exclaimed, rushing towards her while trying not to trip over the other patients.

"L-Lord Naofumi?!" Rino was surprised at the sight of her leader carrying what looks to be a rather beaten up Beloukas. All eyes were now on Naofumi, as he was catching everybody's attention.

"Eh? Master Naofumi, what's going on?" Raphtalia asked, noticing his slightly distressed face, and then gasped as she spotted the reason why. Keel, Ake and Étoile ran up to him as well, seeing the mangled man's state.

"W-Wha-What happened to him?" Keel looked aghast at the sight of her former owner mangled to near hell. He just might be dead, if it wasn't for the soft moaning he was doing.

"Heal him! Quick!" Naofumi urged to Rino, laying him on another makeshift bed, with the mage girl nodding without hesitation, aimed her hands towards the man and channeled mana.

"**Quickheal!**" She chanted, but instead of a wave of healing energy emitting from her hands, a small paltry wave appeared, then fizzled out.

"What are you waiting for?!" Naofumi exclaimed in frustration, before he noticed the state Rino was in. She was dehydrated for mana.

"I-I'm sorry… L-Lord Naofumi…" She panted out, before she fell on her backside, completely tuckered out. Anymore and she would faint from mana exhaustion. The mayor knelt down and checked how she was doing, before looking at the Shield Hero with concern.

"Please, Shield Savior… let her rest. She has been healing everyone else in here, so please do not be angry." He pleaded. Seeing the situation and what she has been doing, Naofumi conceded. It didn't make him any less frustrated, before looking around and spotting Étoile. An idea sparked in his head before calling to her.

"Étoile!" The man addressed quickly, catching the catgirl's attention. "Join my party! Quick!"

At that demand, everybody looked heavily confused. This is a desperate situation, yet the Shield Hero could only think about inviting the strapping warrior demi-human into his party? Granted, nobody knows, and will probably never know, about Naofumi's ability to change jobs at will depends on the party members he has made, but now everybody had questions.

"W-What?!" Étoile looked completely shocked and baffled at the request, as is the rest of the party. "Lord Shield Hero! This man is in critical danger, and what you are asking is to join your party?! Are you crazy?!"

"Étoile! Please! I can help him, if you join me! Trust me!" Naofumi reasoned back, with just as much desperation in his voice as Étoile's. At that moment, she couldn't even try to comply with that request, but then she noticed Ake's eyes and heard his words.

"Étoile… I think you should do it." Ake said to her, which made her gasp twice as hard.

"A-Ake! How could you even consider his request?!" She demanded, not believing that her trusted knight friend and junior knight cadet would take the side of accepting the request.

"Étoile, trust us. Naofumi has never failed us. He knows what he's doing, so please…!" He pleaded to the woman, which seemed to have an affect on her reasoning. Looking at Raphtalia and Keel, who seemed to share the same sentiments, she could only sigh, before promptly accepting it.

"There. Now what?" She sighed in defeat, before watching Naofumi not hesitate in his actions. The man, now smirking at the sight of a new job point, grabbed the new job in front of him.

**Holy Knight**

**Baptized in the divine light, smite your foes with your untarnished soul. Uses swords and shields.**

"Good. Now!" Naofumi transformed, his stick glowing into the shape of a sword. Everyone was entranced by how Naofumi was glowing brightly with power, but it wasn't due to fright. It felt… comforting. Aiming his hands towards Beloukas, he chanted his own spell. "**Lay on Hands!**" A large wave of a paladin's healing light spilled from Naofumi's hands and wrapped around Beloukas, healing some of his many external wounds. "Not enough… **Lay on Hands!**" The man forced more mana and pumped more healing power towards the man's mangled body, slowly recovering him.

"No way… The Shield Hero can do this?" Many of the townsfolk were in awe at what they were seeing, even Naofumi's party members were in shock at his healing prowess. The sinew connected to each other, the tissue repaired itself, and the scars and wounds began to disappear, however, Rino noticed something about Beloukas's body.

"L-Lord Naofumi! He's stopped breathing!" She told him in a worried tone, with the situation becoming twice as tense. Naofumi gritted his teeth, and put even more healing power one more time.

"**LAY ON HANDS!**"

The room lit up in a ferocious bright yellow as Naofumi poured his all into the spell. It wasn't as powerful as a **Cleric**'s healing spells, but Naofumi had no choice due to the circumstances. Finally, many of the wounds mended themselves with the help of the healing light, enough to consider the man stable. "He's breathing!" Rino noted, wrapping up the other wounds in tight bandages, being careful not to agitate them any further, as Naofumi's light waned, and he fell to his knees.

"Is he…?" He began, before hearing the man breath softly, indicating that he was alive. However, he was not waking up at all. Looking at the man and checking his stats, it seemed that Beloukas was suffering from mana exhaustion as well as exhaustion from pain.

"What's wrong, Naofumi?" Ake asked, with Raphtalia and Keel helping Naofumi up, his eyes never leaving his patient. "Is he gonna wake up?"

"No. He's in a coma. Complete exhaustion Whatever happened must have injured him terribly." He panted out, before he stood up straight. "Only time will help him recover. Damnit…" The Shield Hero cursed, wondering what to do with him.

"Sorry… we completely forgot about him." Étoile muttered her apology. "Us knights vowed to protect the citizens from danger, and yet-..."

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Raphtalia interrupted Étoile's apology. "There was only so much we could do. We… we can't protect everybody…" The raccoon trailed off and said no more, her piece now said was enough to partially snap Étoile out of it.

"Y-You're right…" She softly murmured.

"Right. Have you buried the dead yet?" Naofumi asked, with Étoile shaking her head.

"Not all of them." The other townspeople looked down, as if they were still silently mourning. Naofumi nodded at the answer, and Étoile, Ake and around half the townsfolk, along with the mayor, walked outside to bury their dead friends and family. Naofumi turned to the three left in his party. "What will you three do now?"

"We're helping the injured in here." Keel answered, but changed the subject. "Master, are you okay?"

"Huh? I'm not injured, Keel." Naofumi told her, but Keel shook her head, along with Raphtalia.

"That's not what we meant." Raphtalia asserted. "That pillar of light… did it actually come from you?" Naofumi only narrowed his eyes and began to ponder about what he should say. Should he tell them that it indeed come from him? Or lie about it? For once, ever since he came back to this world days ago, he didn't know the best answer. It had him split so much, he didn't notice Raphtalia and Keel shaking and prodding him back to reality.

"Master, are you back?" Keel called him out for zoning out, her deadpanned stare not helping matters. Naofumi sighed, knowing only one answer would stave them off.

"I don't know."

"R-Really…? Are you sure?" Raphtalia tried to dig deeper at that mystery, but Naofumi was a lot more of a stalwart wall on that subject than anything else. The other two girls also wanted to know more, having a hard time believing it.

"It's true." Naofumi urged. "That undead puppet was about to land a fatal strike, but I blacked out in the middle of it, and before I knew it, he was obliterated, and I was on the floor. Does that answer your question?"

"..." Rino only tilted her head in uneasiness, and Raphtalia and Keel looked at each other, their eyes sharing their answer towards each other: not convinced. They were about to ask more questions, but Naofumi began to walk out of the building. "H-Hey!"

"Shush. You're gonna disturb the patients…" He told them, putting a finger on his lips. On cue, a couple of patients groaned, waking up, and possibly opening their wounds. The three of them looked surprised, before running to them, trying to help them, giving Naofumi more than enough time to slip out. He had a couple of things to make sure of first; a couple people he needed to see before afternoon hits. One of them being...

_'Where could that damn Spear Hero gone to...?'_

**.o0o.**

It was now afternoon. Within the forests, one could see a lone man jogging through the forests, holding an egg in his arms, with spear behind his back. On his spear, a few burlap sacks were tied around the handle. The sun only came through in pockets, the trees partially covering the sun. He trailed through some foliage and grass before finding the path he was looking for.

"A path... This should take me... somewhere..." He told himself, as his feet picked up the pace, despite having a lot of daylight in the sky. However, his mind lingered towards the town he just left abruptly. He felt bad for leaving the rest of Lute in their mourning, but it had to be done. A lot was on his mind: from how he acted with siding with Myn- err, _Malty_, and the match, and the betray, to now. But what stood out to him was the moment he nearly lost himself in the bloodlust and reverie... of Rino.

He remembered the events of the extreme power boost he got, along with the accompanying voice of temptation and desire, but also how his attitude and personality changed hard, as if he was an exaggerated version of himself. A man nearly consumed by his own lust and worship... for a girl. He couldn't believe he was acting like this, but it was warranted. Rino saved him from his own fuck-up, made him see the hurtful truth, and made him fight for what was right. But the moment it went a little farther... It began to remind him of what he has done. The fresh images of a certain mage girl and her frightened face began to invade his head, and he shook his head violently, while avoiding trying to rile or crack his egg. "Man, you done some fucked up stuff before, Motoyasu... but this... this is just..." Motoyasu harshly told himself. "I can't believe I'm lusting for a little girl..."

The man shook his head, focusing back on the road. "I can't... I can't be in the same party as her." Flashbacks of his uncontrollable state of being began to flash at him. The way he punctured and slashed enemies with his spear, taking joy that the blood he spilled was in the name of-... He felt the urge to vomit. She didn't deserve this.

_She deserves better..._

There was no way he should be corrupting her. Sure, it would be completely harmful to him, but... after remembering everything he has done, the harm he felt was nothing compared to the scared face she had of him. Instead, it would be best if he had been away from her. Only in his memories would he remember Rino. He looked at his egg, and embraced it tight, his face on the shell, acting as if the egg was a baby itself. There, newfound determination began to surge within him, as he would vow to return a better man, and take Rino back once he has proved himself, and the egg would be not just a measure for his goal, but as a companion and his only trusted friend throughout his redemption.

_I'll protect you... I promise..._

* * *

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!********

* * *

**Wow, you guys really wanted Holy Knight. I gotta say, you guys really want to rub salt onto the wound for the Pope.**

**Yes, the major antagonist has finally been revealed! It's Tact, from the Light Novel! Apparently, he's been a problem for the longest time, being a straight-up douche to everybody and causing all sorts of trouble. You will have to read up who Tact is. And if you foresaw this, kudos to you, because I've dropped hints!**

**Yes, Beloukas got the spotlight for this one, because 1. He's sort of tied to the history with the Shield Hero in a way and 2. It gives a demonstration on what a Reaper class does. There are tie-ins with the Tonberry monster too. Yep, combined classes are definitely powerful.**

**Yes, we will get tales of Motoyasu later.**

**No, Dark Knight will come later. Not now.**

**The Rock Valley is coming next! Remember to favourite, follow, and review! Reviews keep this story alive, because it allows me to communicate! Also, don't be afraid to PM! I would love to have all of your inputs!**


	20. Chapter 20: Bury the Past

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! THIS ALSO CHANGED A BIT OF THE INTRO IN CHAPTER 18. SORRY FOR THE QUICK EDIT.  
********

**This one took me a while. I apologize. **

**Anyway, I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_Burying the dead was not easy, and grief was not made any easier. It was the first time I lost one of my party members. While the other three Heroes boasted about replacing their party members or just using some fairy tale item that can 'revive' them, I could only carry Victoria away, burying her in the fields within the region of Melromarc. It had a cliffside, showing the most beautiful view of the sunset, along with the winds blowing in my face. She always did say that she loved the wind, as if it was calling her to fly. While Ghido, Kelga and the bird were beside me for support, I hadn't the heart to tell them that I wanted to be alone. Sure, the other Heroes thought friends and party members were replaceable, but they weren't. That's what made them idiots._

_But it wasn't all bad. After saying some last words and leaving Victoria's resting place, I named my big filolial bird in a variation of Victoria's name. **Fitoria.**_

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 5_

* * *

"Here… this will be a good place."

The voice of Étoile commanded the remaining rebels and other townsfolk. Many of them nodded and solemnly laid the soldiers on the grounds close to the edges of the cliff. The silence was only accompanied by the howling wind, the rustling plant life and the occasional cry from a flying bird. The atmosphere only got even more heavy handed, as some of the soldiers began to cast their own ritual spells to assist in the burial.

**As the source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and create a pit in front of me. Earth Hole!**

Glyphs of magic shined on the ground, creating perfect rectangular holes on the ground, just enough of them to place the dead bodies into the holes. Now came the hardest part for the townsfolk: putting their dead relatives in. Many were crying as they laid them to rest, some were even unable to do it, as it was too painful and heart-wrenching to even do. A few soldiers were the same, trying to keep their pride and dignity, but eventually some tears were let out from their swollen eyes. Even Ake couldn't help but look away, sadness welling up inside of him.

Once the last of them were placed gently in their own graves, Étoile took a deep breath, and saluted the dead soldiers, albeit quite shakily, with the other living ones following her lead. It was a dark and trying time for them, but one they can hope to recover from. "May you find paradise toward the heavens above…" Étoile whispered while looking at the sky. The thoughts of the dead soldiers and the Vice-Captain lingered in her thoughts, before shedding a single tear, trying her hardest not to cry.

The townsfolk were also saying their piece to their own graves, placing flowers and even mementos in them, their own tears falling in the process.

"My little girl… I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you… If only I took your place instead…"

"Daddy…! Why did you go?! Why did you have to go?!"

"Mama… She's sleeping…? When will you wake up, Mama?"

"My baby boy! Why oh why is this world so cruel?!"

There was a particular loud mother outright bawling for her one and only son who was once alive, now in a grave, alongside his favourite orange ball. Étoile looked at the woman with pity, seeing her devastated from the loss of her son would do that. Ake broke away from his post, and walked towards the wailing woman.

"I'm… so sorry about your son..." Ake told the woman, attempting to comfort her. However, that only gave the opposite effect, as the woman shook, before looking at Ake with angry eyes.

"Sorry?! That's all you have to say?!" The woman growled, standing up and looking at the frightened Ake dead in the eye. "My son DIED, because of YOU!"

"H-Huh?!" Ake stepped back, shocked that his words did not calm her down. He was stuttering at what to say, but the mourning mother just kept unleashing her emotions.

"If it wasn't for you…!" She began, huffing and crying at the same time, seeing red at the sight of knight's armour. "If it wasn't for you, this whole thing wouldn't have happened! And my son would have been alive!"

"You're wrong!" Another voice interrupted her. It was a woman, holding her daughter in her arms, looking at the angry and grieving woman with resolute eyes. "If it wasn't for them, a lot more would have died."

"How could you say that?!" The angry mother roared, but the little daughter jumped into the argument, indignant anger in her eyes and spreading her arms out as if she was defending her mother.

"It's not their fault! I wouldn't be alive without them!" She yelled out, pointing to Ake and Étoile. Everyone was shocked into silence, surprised how heated this argument was getting, enough to get a child involved.

But the angry woman wasn't done yet. "But he shouldn't have died at all! If it wasn't for these... these knights that brought them into Lute in the first place, then my son would be alive in this world...! He should've lived...! Why, oh God, why did you take my dear son away from me? Why couldn't it be HER?!" She pointed a finger at Étoile and the knights, who stared in shock. Many of the townspeople gasped at the statement, but they couldn't refute them They knew that the mother, this particular mother, was very close to her son, and the fact wasn't false about Étoile letting the Vice-Captain and his entourage in the city without waiting for the Shield Hero or letting others know. It was a hasty and questionable decision in the eyes of many, but most importantly…

"...It was foolish decision of me." Étoile admitted out loud, everybody's eyes looking at her. Her head was down, The knights, particularly Ake, looked shocked at that statement. "It was foolish that I let the enemy in without consulting the heroes. I let my heart decide the best option for all of us, but in the end, I led your loved ones to your deaths…" This woman, once proud and strong, fell to her knees and cried, her hands covering her sobbing face as a few tears leaked away. The cat ears fell and the tail curled around her waistline, like a child trying to hide away from everybody. It was the first time she ever felt the feeling of shame in her heart manifest inside of her.

Only silence permeated around the graves. The parents looked at her and, for once, they didn't know what to think. For one, the mother was right to be angry at her and that they should be angry too, but Étoile is admitting to her mistakes. The other rebel knights only looked down, the same shame bubbling inside of them. Even Ake was at a loss for words. Suddenly, she felt a small hand touch her shoulder. Removing her hands, she saw that it was the little girl.

"Don't cry…" The girl murmured to the cat woman. "It wasn't your fault… If it wasn't for you, I would have… would have…" She couldn't finish that sentence. Étoile smiled and nodded.

"Thank you… little one..." The warrior thanked the little girl she saved before, weeping with her, as everybody's hearts went out to them. Étoile then stepped up onto her own two feet. Grabbing Ake's sword, much to his surprise, the cat demi-human walked to mother who had lost her son, and laid the sword in her hands. "I-I know you miss your son... and so will many others. And I understand if you wish to continue to scream, yell or even have your vengeance on me…y-you may do so." That last one made a few people gasp, even the mother, who would never even consider killing someone. Sure, they understood public Étoile only closed her eyes, awaiting the attacks coming to her. She looked calm on the outside, and surprisingly, she was beginning to accept her fate and faults. Before, she could remember being in the center of attention with the Knights of Melromarc. The Captain and Vice-Captain looking on with such high praise and expectations, while the other knights always asked her for help and praised her so highly. Even Ake gave her a taste of real life as her friend, compared to the others who were more bootlicker than comrade. Now? It was her first taste of real pain and, as the honourbound warrior she was, she just had to accept it.

"Please... don't say such things." A calm elderly voice came from the crowd, who turns out to be the Mayor of Lute. Her eyes turned to him, and he smiled a melancholic smile. "It would be terrible should we do what you have asked. Humanity is much better than that, young lady."

"Huh?" She breathed out, as Ake's father approached her and placed his hands on hers.

"There's no point in attacking you with words or punches. It won't bring back the dead." The mayor was despondent during that statement, but brightened up a little at the next ones. "We can only move on from here, and remember the fallen. After all, if it wasn't for you and your knights evacuating us, along with the two Heroes aiding against that mysterious assailant, things would have gotten much worse, right?"

Those words eased Étoile a lot, her heart losing a lot of the tension as more tears came down from her eyes. "I…. Thank you…!" She was relieved to hear those words, as she cried it all out. It felt like a huge burden was lifted from her shoulders. The others smiled at the sight of the argument resolved. Even the despondant and grieving mother holding onto Ake's sword nodded in forgiveness, giving back the sword to the man and turned back to the grave to say her final goodbyes. After all, she was only trying to help. Ake, also giving a sigh of relief, took back his sword and placed his hands on Étoile's shoulder.

"Let's finish up. Naofumi should be waiting for us."

**.o0o.**

At the ravaged farmlands, the cloaked Shield Hero was kneeling on the ground, as if he was inspecting something. Looking at the dead plants, he picked up a damaged corn stalk on the ground. What he saw were burn marks and broken pieces that were once delectable harvestable corn. "Hm…" Before he began inspecting, the corn field looked like it was bombed heavily. One could say fireballs from the knights, but one of the townspeople said that one of the necromantic soldiers exploded in the corn field, catching a few of the townsfolk. Looking into it further, the man spotted something that caught his eye: a black polluting decay.

"Great…" The man growled to himself, seeing the aftereffects of necromancy. Sighing to himself, he stood up and saw the other plants with a small bit of the same black decay on the otherwise destroyed plant life. This wasn't going to be good for the citizens of Lute, but at this point, what can he do? What was the best solution he could come up with?

"Master Naofumi?" A voice caught his attention, which made him turn around.

"Raphtalia." Naofumi addressed, seeing the raccoon lady walk to him, with what looks like a bag on her. "What is that you got there?"

"Oh this?" She lifted the black bag with the white logo, which looks like a four pointed star with a ring around it, which was the sign of healing. "It's a bag with first aid supplies that the citizens of Lute created to give to you." The demi-human smiled and handed it to Naofumi.

"..." The man didn't say anything, and just left the bag inside of his inventory, with nary a word or a grunt from him indicating thanks. Raphtalia fidgeted a little, almost as if she wanted to say something. "Is something wrong?"

"H-Huh? N-No, it's… it's nothing…" The raccoon girl spoke in a despondent tone, pouting and looking away. She was hoping that she would be praised for her efforts, but that came undone. However, she saw the thoughtful look on Naofumi's face. "Master?"

"Hmm…" Naofumi only looked at the decaying leaf in his hands, wondering what to do. He had two choices after he informst the mayor on what is happening: to have them move, or let them choose, a chance for them to stay and think that this may be a giant hoax. If he does move them, then he and his party won't have time to get stronger for the next Wave. If he doesn't, he's endangering the citizens of Lute to this new decay.

For the years he has lived, the man for once didn't know what to do. Should he stay the hero? Should he be more of an enforcer? He didn't know, as there is no sort of karma system in this world. Maybe...

"Master?" Raphtalia's voice interrupted his thought process. "What's wrong? What are you staying at that leaf for?" His eyes turned to his slave, seeing her worried eyes. However, the man sighed, and walked off.

"It's none of your concern, Raphtalia." The man replied, but Raphtalia wasn't having any of it. She grabbed his shoulder, stopping her master once more, eager to help in any way, and made it apparent by blurting it all out.

"Please! Let me help you!"

Naofumi only raised an eyebrow at her declaration. "Huh?"

"I-I…Tell me what I can do! Anything!" The raccoon girl demanded from Naofumi, grabbing his cloak. The way she demanded it… Naofumi couldn't help but wonder if she was being desperate.

"What do you mean? You don't even know the situation." Naofumi told her, but she kept at it.

"That doesn't matter! Just… please, let me be of use to you!" Raphtalia tried to reason, which made Naofumi shake his head.

"Not now. We don't have a lot of time left." Naofumi denied her request, not knowing Raphtalia's true purpose, and began to walk towards the mayor's building. "We need to prepare to leave soon. We don't have a lot of time left."

"Wha…. I….?" Raphtalia felt her heart shatter, as she saw Naofumi beginning to leave. But before she could sink even further, her master continued.

"If you want to help, then find a cart, get our party together, even Beloukas, and maybe a stock of food as well. We leave as soon as we're all done."

Hearing her new orders, the raccoon girl shook a little, before complying and running to the ranch. Somewhere in her heart, despite getting what she wanted, Raphtalia didn't feel as if she was being useful to her master.

Back to Naofumi, the hero sped-walked towards the mayor's home, and soon as he enters inside, he sees the other townspeople, along with the rebel knights and the mayor, coming back from saying their prayers, their eyes red from crying and sobbing. It only made Naofumi remember just how real and grim this world can be.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes… What's our next move, Captain?" Étoile asked to Naofumi, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Captain? What's with the new title?" Naofumi wondered as the new title has opened up.

**A new title has been earned!**

**[Rebel Captain]**

_**Time for the kings to bow!**_

**(All party allies and alliance members, which is anybody under your command in separate parties, deal 40% more damage. All rebel knights and traitor will follow your every command.)**

Naofumi looked at the new title, and raised his eyebrows at the impressiveness, wondering if this can be helpful. But he had no time to fix it up now, and equipped it.

"The knights all look up to you as you have saved us from certain doom these past days... due to my blunder..." Étoile explained, muttering the last portion, with the knights each chiming in with their own words of praise.

"You saved us in the Wave!"

"You're our Hero! No matter what Melromarc says!"

"Without you, this town or the people wouldn't be standing!"

The citizens even chimed in some of their praises. It felt nice, and he hasn't gotten them in a long time. It was like the words of positivity were filling the void in his heart, something that was empty for the longest time. However, he noticed the expression on Étoile's face. What was she downcast ab out? That thought had to be cut short, as Rino stepped in from the curtains that lead to the main foyer.

"Shush! The patients are resting…!" The girl put her finger on her mouth and whispered to them harshly, causing many of them to zip it.

'_Huh… something tells me this girl is way too mature to be a ten-year-old…'_ Naofumi thought to himself. "Thank you, Rino, but we are going to leave soon. Can't have Melromarc hunt us down."

"W-What…?!" The people began to panic at the slip of the tongue. The idea that the kingdom could start a crusade on their town after what has happened, and that isn't something the citizens want. Even the knights looked at each other worryingly. Naofumi cursed himself for letting it slip, not wanting to cause another panic and argument. However, as soon as it could escalate, the doors opened and in walked Raphtalia and Keel.

"Master! I found some carts for you, along with some food and supplies!" Raphtalia told Naofumi, but then realized the others around him, looking at her and Keel.

"U-Uhhh, did we miss something?" Keel asked sheepishly.

"Where were you, Keel?" Naofumi asked offhandedly.

"I was helping out with the graves by getting some rocks for tombstones, but then Raphie wanted me to help with some preparations for the carts! That's all." She replied, with a sad smile on her face.

"Oh, why that's such a thoughtful thing to do for us, young lady." The mayor bowed to her in thanks. "But, what's this about carts? Does the Hero need one?"

Naofumi, however, did not answer. Words began to make the gears roll in Naofumi's head.

'_Graves…? Rocks…?' _Naofumi told himself and then it all clicked to him. There was a way. A way to get the citizens out of there. A way to get to a safe place. A way to prepare for the next Wave in time. Turning to the mayor, he nodded to his question, but added more to his request.

"Actually, we'll need all of the carts. We need to all get out of here, anyway. Including all of you." That sparked confusion amongst the citizenry, so Naofumi had to elaborate. "Mayor, I need to ask: are you planning to stay here in the town?"

"W-Well, yes but… at this damaged state, we're not sure." The Mayor had to think about it. While there are some people who vehemently wanted to stay, others had to say no to the question.

"Then you might want to see this." The man beckoned them to follow him, with many of them walking behind him. Soon, they reached the cornfield, now even more decayed than before.

"W-What happened?! Our cornfield!" The voice of one farmer shouted in horrific realization, as the others widened their eyes at what they saw. Dead leaves, blackened vegetables, and the dirt becoming dry like a wasteland, they couldn't believe their eyes on what they saw. The townspeople looked scared to even go near it, while the knights looked shocked at the decay.

"Lord Shield Savior… what is this?" The mayor stuttered at the sight.

"Decay." Naofumi told him bluntly. "Necromancy practiced in any way has terrible side effects to the surrounding nature, causing pollution and a plague to spread. Those undead soldiers that puppeteer summoned into the town is to blame. However…" He added the word 'However' to keep their attention from devolving into another panic. "...We can use this to our advantage."

"Advantage… how?" Ake couldn't help but ask. At that point, Naofumi smiled and looked back at the house. In his mind, he was hoping someone would 'lend' his personal possession for a test.

**.o0o.**

_**Clack clack clack clack clack clack**_

The marching in the afternoon fields were loud as foot soldiers walked through. Their armor were white, with golden accoutrements on the borders of the plate armours. Their capes instead of having the Melromarc symbol, the symbol of the Church of the Three Heroes were on them. Ahead, five special people marched on to lead the soldiers, their attire is more or less the same as their platoons. One had his close helmet opened by the mask, smirking as he saw the destination up ahead. He stroked his mustache and chin as the familiar Captain, decked in new armor, pulled out his sword.

"We reached our target!" The same snide voice announced, looking at his new commanders.

One of them was a big buff man, wearing a close helmet. His equipment had a lot of white and golden armors, with leather boots and black gloves. Attached behind him was a giant **Viking**'s axe, and he grabbed the weapon wordlessly.

Another was an old lady, with a white and black cloak draped on her. Despite her age, she could still move, and had a lot of energy. Her face wasn't shown behind the cloak, but short brown hair and purple earrings could be seen. However, she readied her **Wizard**'s tome on the side, without showing any sort of emotion.

The third was a young man in white armor. He had an orange scarf around his neck, with light white armor and a white jacket to match it. His gloves were golden and his boots and pants were black underneath. His right shoulder also had a golden armguard, adorned with a single amber gemstone. However, the young man's blue eyes were blank with emotion or control, as he wordlessly drew out his golden **Legendary Sword**.

The last one was another young man, adorned in white cloth rather than armor. His garb was more light purple, with a while cloak with the Church's symbol on it around his back. While his gloves and books were white, the only metal armor pieces he had were on his left arm, golden plating around the shoulder, his left pec and his waist. Even so, his glorious appearance did not denote his expression, as he was like a puppet himself and, by the orders of the Captain, pulled out the **Legendary Bow**.

"CHARRRRGE! Find these citizens and take them prisoner! FOR THE THREE HEROES!" The man commanded, pointing his sword towards the town, and the soldiers ran to the town, giving their battlecry… and stopping as they saw what was in front of them. "Huh?! What are you soldiers doing?! I said CHARGE! What in the hell are you stopping for?!" The Captain ran up ahead, pushing past all the regular footsoldiers and privates, and saw what they were seeing.

It was like a ghost town. The homes were wrecked and decrepit, rotting corpses were on the ground, and decay was spreading all over the ground. It was as if Lute was destroyed months ago, and this was the result of the unburied bodies. The smell of soot and rot invaded the Captain's nose, as he backed away in a frightened state.

"T-This… wh-what happened here…?!" The Captain stuttered as he saw the farmland rotting away. This wasn't what the scouts have noted in the morning. Would they have lied to him?! The Captain of the Army of the Three Heroes?! The man didn't know if he should step in further or not, but then realized a shadow slowly walking towards him and, judging by the green cloak and the shield in his arm, the Captain knew who this person was. "You?!" The man snarled as he pulled out his sword.

"_Well well, the Captain of the Melromarc Knights." _The voice of Naofumi echoed in the town, as fog began to surround the town. _"Sanctimonious scum, trampler of the hopes and dreams of serf and peasant alike."_

"Shield Demon! So you finally show yourself!" The Captain smiled, knowing that he outnumbered and possibly overpowered the rogue Hero, and issued an order. "ATTACK HIM!" He commanded, pointing at Naofumi… and nothing. "What?! Didn't you hear me?! I SAID ATTACK HIM! ATTACK HIIIIIIIIIM!" The pious Captain roared out… and the soldiers didn't move.

"_Heh… what a joke of a Captain you are."_ Naofumi smirked at the man's loss of composure, as he began to walk towards him slowly. _"Can't even earn the command and respect of his fellow soldiers. I wonder what the old Juvenile Knights think of you now? Nothing at all, I suppose, since they're all puppets now."_

"You… you take that back!" The Captain growled, insulted that a man with such demonic wiles and purpose would say that such words to a pious man like him. He then charged on his lonesome, seeing as the other soldiers weren't following his command, but then found his feet unable to move. "H-Huh?! What the…?!" The Captain saw the rotten earth become more like heavy dense sludge, slowly gripping his greaves with its mud like quicksand.

"_Take what back? It wasn't meeeee who saiiiiid it…" _The voice of Naofumi slurred about, effortlessly taunting the man, as voices began to echo all around him. Slowly the ground underneath turned into a sinkhole, and the mud suddenly changed form into red undead hands grabbing the man deeper inside as he struggled to get out.

"_You killed us…!"_

"_Suffer like my children has!_

"_Accursed knights! Feel our agony!"_

"_Take a trip to hell with us together!"_

"No! No nononoNO!" The Captain panicked as the hands began to form into humanoid beings, moaning and clawing his armor away like paper. "Let go! I'm a man of God! You hear me?! Let go! I don't want to go to-!"

All he then saw was red.

**.o0o.**

"Hmph. How foolish. To think he was the Captain of the Juvenile Knights. Melromarc has grown into a royal cesspool these days."

A blonde-haired man with a disappointed look and a snide voice sat on the tree, watching the events unfold from his vantage point to the town, which wasn't rotting or polluted fully, but it was certainly abandoned. He walked towards the writhing Captain on the floor, suffering what seems to be a powerful illusion to his own senses making him see and experience things that weren't there at all. It looked truly pathetic, yet entertaining, watching him order his troops to attack someone that wasn't even there, and even struggling to get up from the ground from invisible hands or something. "Pathetic indeed." The man pulled out thhe **Vassal Projectile**, taking the shape of a specially made kunai, black in colour, but shining like an onyx, sharper than any arrow, and denser than any metal, and threw it effortlessly at the tortured Captain's neck, killing him instantly. The kunai vibrated, before levitating and zooming back to the man's hand.

"There. Now then…" The man turned to the soldiers, who looked to be awaiting new orders at the presence of the blonde-haired man. Smirking, he kicked aside the corpse of the Captain and announced his presence. "Soldiers! You will also answer under me, Tact Arusahorun Faubley, second in command of the Church of the Three Heroes, and the orders of the Gods are absolute! The High Priest commands all of you to spread your numbers across the land like the cleansing plague and kill and destroy anybody under the name of the Three Heroes! Make them rue the day they curse their pitiful existences!" The man commanded with a sinister, yet resolute voice.

"YES SIR!" The footsoldiers saluted, before marching towards different directions. However, Tact held his hand up.

"Footsoldiers can go. The commanders on the other hand…" Tact smirked at the four, then pointed to the axe-wielding **Viking** and the tome-holding **Wizard**. "You two, remove your head equips. Show me your faces and speak your names." The two did just that, revealing their faces.

One of them had no hair, but he had a beard, tanned skin, some scars on his cheek and bald head, and blank brown eyes. "Erhart." The **Viking **responded with no emotion at all.

The other revealed to have short brown, amethyst earrings, purple eyes and some slight wrinkles. "Matoya." The **Wizard** replied in a robotic tone.

"Good, and you, oh Legendary Heroes…" The man looked at the two of them. "Oh, right. You too, as well. I already know you two already. Ren. And Itsuki. Right."

The man waved them off, asking nothing else, as he was clearly more interested in the prospect that he had them under his thumb rather than their names. "Now, go spread terror in the name of the Three Heroes!"

The four of them nodded and marched off: Erhart and Itsuki going east, while Matoya and Ren headed west. Now, with their orders finalized, Tact smirked to himself. "Heh, seems like things will get even more interesting… won't it, Naofumi?" The blonde-haired man turned his head, eyeing what looks like a **Teleport Stone**, attached to an inconspicuous pole of the mayor's home. He noticed it fiercely glowing as soon as the Captain stepped foot into the town. Perhaps that was how the illusion was being set up. Tact walked up to the stone and grabbed it like he was picking an apple from the tree, and glanced at it. "So this was how you done it… Very crafty, Naofumi. But using an item from ages past won't save you this time."

* * *

**Whew. This one was tricky, but I got it done in time.**

**Yes, Tact knows WAY more than he should. If you know who he is, then I would like you to know that I'm extended his backstory by a truckload. He isn't going to be JUST this, but he's going to be SO MUCH MORE. Stay tuned!  
**

**Yes, that's ****Étoile's character for you. She's prideful, having adopted and grown up in the rich household of Seaetto. So she has pride, but after the last few chapters, this event has to have changed her for the better. That's why she was willing to give herself in retribution, even letting herself be beaten by the townsfolk if they so choose. Thankfully, that was resolved quite quickly.  
**

**Yes, Raphtalia's vulnerability to not being useful to her master is showing. MORE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.**

**Yes, if you haven't guessed by now, Erhart and the others, even the Heroes, have no escaped unscathed, and now under the hypnotic rule of the Pope. Seems like the stakes have been raised heavily.**

**And yes, the Magic Shop Owner doesn't have a name, but the Wiki states that her kanji name is ****Mahōya. Close enough.**

**Yes, the Captain is dead. He's a jerk and an asshole, so why not show a quick death to see how pathetic he really is?**

**No, Naofumi isn't an Illusionist, which would allow him to use the spell that can hypnotize the Captain, but the man knows the spells and, with saying the incantation, he can cast them without being in that specific job. As long as he knows the incantation. It just costs a LOT more mana.**

**Yes, Beloukas is a true hero, which was the irony I was hoping to set.**

**ALRIGHT, QUESTION TIME! HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD IN THE REVIEWS! Out of all the jobs we have learned, from Assassin, Summoner, Occultist, Alchemist, Cleric, Magus, Fencer, Holy Knight and Machinist, what are the job combos, AKA Fusion Jobs, do you want to see? Tell me now in the reviews!  
**


	21. Chapter 21: Uselessness

************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!************

**It has been a difficult two weeks for me, especially with work, school and dark times ahead. Thank you for being patient.**

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_It felt like forever, yet it was only just three days. My mind still filled at the shock of losing Victoria, and yet my party just continued to trudge with me, as if nothing happened. But I continued to hang on, defending and performing my role, while assisting in killing monsters that roamed the areas. _

_But do you know that feeling of shock and dread that when reality sunk in, rewinding and playing back the recent events over and over?_

_My mind was still lost, uncaring and apathetic... until I came to realize the situation I was in, as I laid in bed. It started with an audience with the king of Siltvelt. And what happened was a blur. A congratulatory announcement, another goddamn fete, Kelga, Ghido and Fitoria forced out of my party, a declaration to beget war and violence, derogatory words against humans and praise to the Shield God (failing to see the damn irony there), an open plan of using me to train new recruits without my say, invitations upon invitations into my party, and... the final straw snapped, as I laid in bed, filled with sleeping demi-human women. My thoughts finally told me..._

**_Gather your party, and get out of here... before it's too late!_**

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 6_

* * *

Racing.

That's what Mirellia's heart was doing, ever since the meeting that she attended in Siltvelt. Diplomacy was always a hard and difficult case; one misstep and the opposing party can take advantage of it like nothing else. However, it is the same for them; one misstep, and she will take it. However, she wasn't the best negotiator around, since it was her husband's forte. But these negotiations can decide the fate of Melromarc, and she hoped with all her heart that it wouldn't sway to the worst outcome: all-out war.

"Mother?

"I dare say, Your Majesty?"

Her own daughter's voice, along with the familiar verbal tic in her faithful shadow's voice, didn't even snap her out of her trance. She was biting the skin on her thumb in a small fit of nervousness. Usually she would never show these emotions to other people, but this time she couldn't help it. It wasn't until Melty tugged on Mirellia's hand in where she snapped out of her glazed gaze.

"H-Huh? Melty?" Mirellia looked down to see her blue-haired daughter's concerned face. That look on her face made her calm down a little. Smiling, she knelt down smiling face to face towards her own daughter. "Do not worry. Mother is feeling better now…" The mother comforted her own daughter.

"Are you sure…?" The girl wondered, but the woman reassured her with a pat on the head. However, Melty's eyebrows furrowed. _'She would always pat me on the head without saying anything… and it would be a lie…'_

"Your Majesty." The shadow bowed her head, before subtly pointing behind the woman. Turning her head, she saw Valnar, the bird demi-human and a representative of Siltvelt, smiling towards her.

"O-Oh, forgive me, your Majesty Queen Mirellia." He snapped out of his trance and bowed to her. "I hope I did not interrupt anything." His excuse, however, made Melty and her personal shadow sweatdrop.

'_How long was he there for…?'_ Melty thought to herself, as Mirellia straightened herself and walked towards Valnar with a smile.

"I'm fine, Valnar. Thank you for your concern."

"That's good! Now, shall we continue the final part of the negotiations?" The representative of the Shusaku race beckoned, but before they could walk out of the hallway towards the meeting room, another presence was made known.

"Don't think you can start this meeting again without an extra party, Valnar." A gruff voice stopped them, as a white tiger demi-human stepped inside. His face looked fierce and his body built like a warrior. White hair adorned the crown of his head, along with two tiger ears, and a white goatee hanging on his chin. His face, chiseled, also had six whisker scars going across his two cheeks. He wore loose fighter's pants, with a rope around his waist like a belt. His open body was shown, as a jacket was lazily hung on his shoulders like a cape. His fierce yellow eyes stared down at Valnar, who stared back hard.

"Geki, there's a reason why your party isn't allowed in-!" Valnar frustratingly tried to tell them off, but the tiger demi-human Geki rolled his eyes and arrogantly walked towards the meeting hall, along with his entourage, who walked in with him, consisting of two white tiger monks and a big lion beastman with yellow eyes, russet brown fur and in a noble's jacket.

"It doesn't matter, Valnar. It involves us as well, just like all of Siltvelt, when it comes to human... and Cardinal Hero... affairs, especially Melromarc." Geki rebuked at the man, spitting out the word _Melromarc_, before walking inside with his entourage. But as he passed through, the man looked at the Melty, his yellow eyes sharpening a little at the sight, before entering the meeting room. When they left, the occupants let out the breaths they were holding.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that, your Majesty." Valnar apologized, with his two fingers on the bridge of his nose.

"It is quite alright, but who are they?" Mirellia asked. "Is he the fourth representative of Siltvelt's government?" Valnar looked uncomfortable on that topic, but nodded.

"Yes. However, we usually do not wish to have them be part of our meetings… They can be… eccentric… and radical." Valnar tried to describe them with the best words he could muster, despite his frustrations about them.

"I see… that man, Geki… he certainly had that aura of power like a representative and one of the four Cardinals of Siltvelt." Mirellia commented, her thoughts going back to what he said about human affairs. It wasn't no surprise that Geki would be like that to her. Things just got a lot harder for her in terms of negotiations.

"Yes… Cardinal…" Valnar murmured, sighing at the word. He knew that Geki was at the same position as Valnar and the other two representatives: Cardinals of Siltvelt. Four demi-human houses that rule Siltvelt as their government, and they all have differing ideals on how they rule. However, it was the Hakuko house that had the most differing ideals, and one that involved war, in the name of the Shield Hero. As part of the Shusaku house, Valnar could not let that stand, especially when it involves endangering the Shield Hero, whom he, and many others worship.

"Valnar?" Mirellia's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Seeing her smirk, she continued. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Seeing that she used the same line as he a few minutes ago, he gave a small chortle. "Right. Best not to keep you waiting."

**.o0o.**

Raphtalia sighed. She didn't know how many times she breathed out sigh after sigh the moment she stepped into the cart, but the raccoon girl didn't care at the moment. Right now, she was sitting at the back of the cart, along with Keel, Ake and Rino looking at her concerned. Étoile was in the other carts, ahead of the hero's own cart. The comatose body of Beloukas was lying down in a makeshift cot near the front.

"Raphie…" Keel shuffled over to the young and glum woman, looking at her with worried eyes. "What's wrong? You've been like this ever since after the fight at Lute…"

"Eh? N-No, I'm-." Raphtalia tried to deny it, but the look Keel gave her broke her resolve. Sighing once more, she looked down, her ears and tail drooping. "Sorry, it's just… It's about Master Naofumi." Hearing his name, Keel raised her eyebrows, as if she had an inkling of what Raphtalia was talking about.

"Is it…?" Keel didn't know how to word it, but she pointed to her own slave crest engraved on her chest. However, Raphtalia shook her head and pointed to the exit of the cart. On the helm of the cart, Naofumi sat there, channelling a lot of mana energy into Beloukas's lantern, sending illusions to the incoming armies of Melromarc, in order to confuse and terrify them. He was hoping that would send them off their trail. As he was channeling, his summoned golem, now in a smaller compact size, was the one dragging the cart. In short, Naofumi has everything under control and is in no way in need of help…

"It bothers me that Master doesn't need any of our help…" Raphtalia hugged her own body, watching the man channel. "He didn't need us to defeat that undead Vice-Captain… He saved us all in the rebellion… and…" The woman looked at Naofumi, specifically the golem that was trolleying the cart. Keel then understood, along with Ake, who was listening intently.

"Oh… you want to be useful to Master, right?" Keel worded out, and Raphtalia nodded solemnly. "But Raphie, you're already useful to him, so-."

"No, I'm not!" She snapped at the wolfgirl, the recipients recoiled from her harsh tone. Immediately realizing her tone, Raphtalia quickly apologized. "S-Sorry…! I just…" The girl sighed once more, curling up even more than usual. Her mouth was clamped up, unable to word out anything else, and Keel couldn't help but share the same sentiment.

Ake, on the other hand, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Raphtalia… It must have been difficult. I know that feeling…" That made Keel look at him.

"How so?" Keel asked, curious on how a human could feel like that. Raphtalia didn't look, but listened to Ake's words.

"...It was Étoile." Ake muttered out.

"Étoile?"

"Yeah… I don't think I told you, but I wasn't the best knight cadet in the Juvenile Knights. In fact, I was the worst one in terms of skills and strength and speed and the like." Ake recounted, frowning at the memory. "It wasn't very pretty. The other knight cadets found it incredibly ridiculous, seeing someone who had below average talent being in the academy and… well, let's just say I was pushed aside and sometimes threatened to drop out. But that's where Étoile came in: the perfect knight cadet and warrior…"

**.o0o.**

_Three years ago..._

_Ake sighed to himself, the young knight cadet walking through the mess hall. It was where all the knights gathered around with their friends, discussing and eating their served lunches. It was like academy from years ago, except now with grown men and women aspiring to be knights. However, it could be just like elementary academy, with all the horrid behaviours._

"_Well well boys, look who's coming!" The snide voice made Ake walk faster with his tray. However, a hand grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around, facing the group of men whom Ake didn't want to see. A tall, burly knight cadet with a small mustache and strawberry-blonde hair smirked as he stood up, half a head taller than Ake himself._

"_Rabier…" Ake muttered, not wanting to be in his presence at all. The man, along with his posse, were the main instigators of bullying around the academy premises, and probably the most insufferable person Ake and a lot of other people met. The best way to deal with him, was trying to run off, but that never worked for Ake._

"_How nice of trash like you to drop by, but you should have ran off like the other dropouts." The burly cadet with a noble background named Cross Rabier sneered at the sight of this pathetic dweeb right in front of him. Don't the others see that he was the one who runs the academy? Sure, the captains, the instructors and even the headmaster were the official heads who ran it. However, it was his father that made everybody, even the higher-ups, afraid. His father, Idol Rabier, a man and veteran who has even fought alongside King Aultcray of Melromarc in the war 25 years ago, thus he has a lot of influence over the academy, the town, even the King himself, but not to the point of wanting to usurp him. Unfortunately for the cadets, much of Idol's arrogance, strength and intelligence has been passed down to Cross, and he uses it daily to assert himself heavily on the other cadets, Ake especially. The young man only had his head down, unable to move as Cross's gaze and smirk made him freeze, his food and tray being forcefully taken away by his posse._

"_...What do you want, Cross…?" Ake muttered in shame and anger. Cross smirked, before his posse began to encroach towards Ake._

"_Yeah, what do you want us to do to this little runt, boss?" One of Cross's cronies was gripping Ake's arms in a lock, smirking and laughing at the young man's struggles, which was getting to Cross's nerves. So the man threw a hard punch on the man's solar plexus, causing the man to cry out in pain, his breath forced out of him._

"_Send him back to where he came from. As always." Cross replied as he went back to his luxurious eating. To many, they winced, as they knew what Cross meant: beat him up and throw him in the mud. Ake paled, struggling, but not able to escape their arms._

_And that was routine._

**.o0o.**

"And it just got worse from there." Ake finished the first half of the tale, with Keel and Raphtalia listening intently.

"Wow… to think humans had this much suffering as well…" Keel commented, a bit in shock from the story. She grew up hearing how humans have persecuted demi-humans, but to hear humans being persecuted by other humans… those was much more suffering towards not just other races, but within the race themselves.

Ake nodded, seeing Keel understand him a bit more, and then continued. "But then… Étoile appeared."

**.o0o.**

"_No please! If I don't go, I might…!"_

"_Save it for the authorities, wimp! Kehehe!"_

_It was yet another little scheme by Cross and his goonies, although this time, today is the examination day. If he misses it, then he wasn't going to graduate from the academy, and Cross was hoping for many of the weakling cadets to be purged from the academy. The strong and rich get to live after all, as the masses suffer, according to Cross._

_Thankfully, he wasn't with Ake, but probably hanging about in the academy dorms. The academy exams weren't going to start until the next few hours, but with Ake being chained up on a lone tree and stripped bare, the exam might not happen._

"_Heh. No hard feelings, kid, but you're in Cross's way. And for that, ya gotta take the fall." One of the cronies smirked, and the posse laughed at the miserable Ake, and began to walk away. That is, before a foot instead of a leather boot smacked onto the stomach of one of the knights, making him keel over. The others stopped laughing and then turned their heads, seeing a knight, glowing red with a helmet and a giant axe._

"_What the…?!" One of the knights stuttered, before they all clumsily readied their swords. However, some of them weren't prepared for the brute force this knight had, as the mysterious knight swung her axe hard and fast in a horizontal angle, cracking their swords and blew away the first line of knights away._

_Meanwhile Ake watched on in jaw-dropping awe. The knight''s prowess and ferocity towards the other knights that bullied him were getting completely smothered and destroyed. The new assailant's swings kept going and going like a cyclone, blowing away the opposition._

"_Graaaugghh!" Many of them screamed as they were blown away from the force. Only a few of them were left. "You…! What the hell are you…?!"_

_The knight did not say anything, and readied for another attacking spree. The three knights that were left paled, but one of them quickly grabbed his sword and aimed it at Ake, which caused the axe-wielder to stop. "Not another step!" He snarled defiantly, which caused the knight to halt. Seeing as it worked, Ake gasped at the audacity of the rogue knight._

"_D-Don't listen to him! Forget about me!" He cried out, which caused him to be kicked in the face. "Gaugh!"_

"_Shut up! You're our ticket out, so quiet!" The knight hissed, before looking at the knight, who was gripping the axe hard. "You better let us go. You don't want anybody… hurt, do you?"_

_The knight didn't respond immediately… until they could hear a growl… and then suddenly they heard a female scream, and a powerful blasting aura emitted from the knight. Wind began to blow back, dust blocking their view, with the knights covering their eyes._

"_Augh! Huh?!" The knights flinched, which was their last mistake. From the cloud of dust, the knight emerged, screaming and shoulder-tackling the knight on the stomach, who had his sword trained on Ake. The other two were sitting ducks, before the axe slashed their chest, killing them._

_It all felt like an eternity, but in reality, it was only two minutes. Soon, the panting knight turned around and ran to Ake, slicing off the chains. "Oh thank the Gods you're alright!" She spoke out to him, relieved to see that he was okay, despite his dignity hanging by the threads. The knight took off her helmet, revealing a woman, slightly older than he was, with cat ears, whiskers and small fangs, looking at him concerned. Ake's body didn't register and move as his eyes just stared at the new face… for all he could say was…_

"_...So cool…"_

**.o0o.**

"And that was how I got to know her. She, Étoile, was amazing…" Ake reminisced. "She was a new recruit to the academy, and is on par for being the best cadet in the academy by a huge gap. Not even Cross could get rid of her or hide the troubles he was causing for his own gain, as she was from the noble family of Seaetto. Her influence had the higher ups finally fight back against the Rabier family, and Cross was immediately expelled from it. Not even his father could save his standing. And with that, the rest was history." Ake finished, recounting those golden years after the torment he endured.

"But wait… how does this relate to Naofumi and us- er Raphie?" Keel interjected, catching herself at the last moment.

"Because I feel that way with Étoile, the same way she feel with Naofumi." Ake replied, looking at Raphtalia, who has just put together the pieces. "Étoile… she was perfect. Lovely, energetic, caring, proud of doing the right thing, yet at the same time, human. I talked with her every chance I get during academy times, and even hung out with her. And yet… she would surpass me in everything I do in the academy, and I looked up to her. But at the same time…

"...You felt left behind." Raphtalia muttered, the hard answer making Ake nod.

"Yeah. And I still do, at points. That's why I wanted to go with Naofumi. I wanted to train hard, to match her. To stand beside her… I felt something when I saw her struggle to put up a brave front back in Lute, like I was her supporting pillar as we fought. She may be out of her reach, but she's still human. So Raphtalia, don't let yourself be down. You can rise up to Naofumi's level in time, and he still needs you. Trust me."

Raphtalia opted to stay silent before, but her eyes directed towards Ake told him that she was listening intently, and from that last line of advice, she nodded, but was still a little downcast.

"B-But, what if it doesn't…?" Raphtalia began to ask, her doubts still lingering.

"Then we'll tell him. Together, Raphie." Kewl spoke with determination. "After all, it's been a while since we've trained! I've been itching to stretch my legs since we've been in this dinky little cart." The wolf girl stretched her limbs out inside to accentuate her point.

"I-I have to agree…" Rino squeaked out, recoiling a little at the eyes looking at the girl. It wasn't out of fear, but out of shyness. "L-Lord Naofumi promised me that I can be strong… as in 'standing on my own two feet' sort of strong." Keel smiled at her words, and puts her in a headlock.

"Heh, that's right! We got a newbie here!" Keel smirked at the young girl. "Don't worry, Naofumi will train ya hard! Right, Raphie?" The wolf girl looked at Raphtalia, who nodded and smiled.

"Yes! I'm sure Master Naofumi, and us, will train you to be strong." The raccoon girl smiled and replied with enthusiasm, a strange feeling of pride coursing through her, as if being a mentor and teacher made her previous woes disappeared. Rino nodded, obliging the two young ladies to help her.

"You can count on me too. I'll help and train however I can!" Ake added, putting a strong hand on her shoulder, which made her even more excited, a new ray of hope dawning within her.

"Thank you…" Perhaps Rino's dream would become a reality after all.

"I got news." Naofumi announced, his meditation with the lantern done, and his head and body turned to meet his party. His own party members turned their heads to meet Naofumi at the driver's seat of the cart. "And it isn't good."

"What's wrong, Master?" Raphtalia asked, worryingly.

"The Melromarc army. That's what's up." He responded, with everybody beginning to get chills. His party members looked at each other worried.

"Damn… Did the diversion not work?" Keel wondered, but Naofumi shook his head.

"The diversion worked. I'm surprised myself that it worked." That got confused looks from the others. "Nay, rather the Melromarc forces has begun to fan out and spread. And they aren't coming with just plain soldier fodder either..." Naofumi narrowed his eyes at the thought.

"What do you mean, Naofumi? Did they…?" Ake trailed off, and Naofumi nodded grimly.

"Yeah. The townspeople. All of them are now part of their forces." That made the others gasp. "And they didn't spare on who they included as well..."

"M-Mr. Erhart…!" Raphtalia and Keel both muttered out loud, with Ake's hand shaking a little at the chilling thought.

"G-G-Grandma…!" Rino nearly screamed out, fearing the worst.

"And the other two heroes…" Naofumi added, not liking it one bit. "That's mainly who we should be worried about, along with this supposed man named Tact Arusahorun Faubley of… Faubley…" The Shield Hero narrowed his eyes at the man's name, something that Ake widened his eyes from.

"Wait, THE Tact of Faubley? The next heir of the Faubley kingdom?" Ake exclaimed, which made more questions arise in Naofumi's head.

"Faubley?" Naofumi mumbled out. "Is that a new kingdom?" The others looked at him like he was crazy.

"You don't know Faubley, Naofumi?" Ake asked, which made Naofumi sigh. The man knew about Melromarc and Siltvelt, but not Faubley? "It's another kingdom that's on the other side of the northwest portion of the continent, far away from Melromarc. The kingdom is famous for having technology and design ahead of its time, like moving automatic vehicles and transportation. But I have never been there, so it's a mystery even to me. But what is the heir doing in Melromarc? Why would he help the Church?" He asked himself, with everybody completely befuddled on the matter, especially Naofumi. But thinking about it now wasn't going to help. Instead, he had to focus on getting away from Melromarc.

"It doesn't matter now. We can dwell on it later." Naofumi told his party. "We should focus instead on getting away from the army. While it was foolish of him to spread the Melromarc forces all over the place, it does guarantee that we'll be caught, sooner or later."

"So where do we go from here, Master?" Keel asked, with Naofumi giving a rare smile to them before facing the front.

"We're going to a place where we can hide out for now. A sanctuary for all demi-humankind." Naofumi announced, an enthusiasm in his voice, with Raphtalia and Keel widening their eyes.

"Eh? A sanctuary?" They both were surprised at the announcement. What could that sanctuary be like?

"Yes. A sanctuary… named Iwatani." Naofumi replied with pride. "Southeast from here, it is a clifftown settlement near the sea, on a large shelf of rock, isolated in the meadows and forests, and protected by the Seaetto family in their region." That made Ake's eyes widen. "If Étoile is from that region, then that means that place must be thriving with activity, right?"

"..."

"... …"

Nobody said a word to Naofumi's claim. That sense of pride suddenly became a little uneasy. "R-Right?"

"...Master… that sanctuary… If what that town you're saying was true... then..." Raphtalia muttered out, feeling like she couldn't say it. Naofumi saw the despondent expressions that his demi-human party members had, and began to assume the worst.

"No… No…!" Naofumi shook in horror, realizing just what has happened, but he had to be sure. Swapping to **Occultist**, he stood up and aimed his stick at the others. "**Spider Web!**" A ball of web splattered on the others, freezing them in place.

"Ahh!" Rino screamed out from the web holding her down.

"N-Naofumi! What are you doing?!" Ake demanded in a panic, as the golem that was pulling the cart stopped, then did a 180.

"I need to be sure…! Iwatani couldn't have been destroyed! I don't believe it!" Naofumi responded in such distress. He grabbed the wood of the cart, as it rumbled and lifted into the air by the golem itself

"W-Wait, what's happening?!" Keel panicked as the web held her in place, thankfully not letting her rattle around in the cart.

"We're taking a short flight to Iwatani…" Naofumi muttered in a hyperventilating state, mentally commanding the golem to pick up the cart and did a huge leap across the forests, the screams of his party members ignored by the leader as they were flying high in the sky, unaware of what lied ahead of them.

* * *

************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!************

* * *

**This one was a doozy. Thankfully the plot advanced somewhat.**

**Yes, Idol Rabier has a son named Cross (haha, because religious items and context, right?) What kind of lord doesn't have a son? Plus, it adds a bit more character depth to the side villains, right?**

**Yes, Iwatani is a place, and it is the place that the anime and manga call Rock Valley, just like how it is Naofumi's last name. The name Iwatani is derived from Naofumi's surname, which does mean rock valley. I adapted it, in where Naofumi has history with it, and one of the flashbacks in a previous chapter dives into it as an introduction.**

**No, Naofumi doesn't know that Tact has the Linkshell. That will become important later.**

**Yes, the Church of the Three Heroes are pretty damn vile. At this point, you should know what they are capable of, and what lengths they will go to kill Naofumi.**

**Thank you for having patience with me. I know I have a history with stories that come really late, but I really appreciate it. I also appreciate your ideas and what you guys want to see,especially some of the longer lists of job combos they want. Another job is gonna come real soon, so stay tuned!**


	22. Chapter 22: Sanctuary Shattered

**********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**********

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_Light encompasses this land completely and utterly, and everywhere the light touches, God has created. Therefore, we do all our duties in his name, and we must give thanks to God Himself, to be in his favour of sacrament and rapture. For when we enter the realm of the heavens, he will judge us for our good deeds and sins in his name._

_To spread the order that He seeks to envelope the world into, we shall chase the darkness away from all corners of the earth. The darkness will spew lies. It will beg to live. It will loom like an animal. As the warriors, templars and priests of God, you must smite them. Do not give them quarter. The Three Cardinal Heroes have yielded not to darkness, despite being captured like animals. They have felled the progenitor of darkness and we, humans and the created gifts of God Himself, can do the same. For we are the children of God._

_May the Three Heroes watch over us in the heavens, as we fell the Shield Devil, just like they have before._

_\- Third Chapter of "The World of the Three Heroes," Author unknown_

* * *

"Daddy? Daddy?" Princess Malty of Melromarc, who was being carried by the other church knights through the front foyer of the castle, called out. The smug princess looked through empty room after empty room, trying to search for her father, to relay the news of what she has witnessed. However, he wasn't in the front entrance, nor was he in his studies, and going through more than half a kilometre of distance with clanking steps tends to make her exasperated from the sounds and scenery. Ever since she came back with her entourage, she was carried back into the ghost town of Melromarc, something that she felt both the feelings of relief and slight agitation at the same time. It was the same with the castle, both silent yet regal at the same time, and the silence was killing her already-low patience. "Where is he…?!" The young woman asked herself in a frustrated hush, needing to tell him what she witnessed, the beam of light that burned into her mind. The brimming source of power that came from that, for some reason, she could never seem to really let it out of her mind…

"Looking for the majesty, your Loveliness?"

The suave sounds of a man's voice echoed in the hallways as the entourage halted. Malty turned her head and raised her eyebrow at the sight of a blonde man showing himself behind the pillar. He had a bandana and a style of clothing that looked nothing like the style she ever saw. She didn't know what to say, as her feelings looked mixed at the man she saw right in front of her. Just before she was going to yell some harsh words to get him out of the way, the man raised both of his hands in defense.

"Hey hey! No need for the hate! Just call me Tact, darling!" Tact casually sat on one of the knight's shoulders and slid his body close to her, until he was just a few inches away from her cheek. His flirtations did not affect her stance with him in the slightest, but it did irritate her.

"Ugh, I've no time for you!" The woman pushed him away, her eyes disgusted at the flirtatious moves he was pulling, and looked away. "I have to find Daddy! Where is he?" Malty hissed out, but Tact was quick to dismiss her attitude, and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, she felt nothing but air underneath her seat. "W-Wha-?!"

Gravity gave way as she fell, right into Tact's arms, as he smirked at her surprise. Apparently, the knights, under Tact's command, released Malty off from their shoulders, and stepped to the side like moving rocks. "You knights can go defend the castle or some other shit. You, Lady Malty, and I will spend some 'quality' time together as we find the king. Aight, sweetums?" Tact's sweet words weren't having an immediate effect on Malty, but she stayed quiet and docile in the meantime. The knights obeyed his words and marched off, back to their undying posts, whether they like it or not, as the man skipped along to a random direction, enjoying the touch of the crimson-haired princess's bare shoulder and clothed bottomwear without her noticing.

**.o0o.**

_**103 years ago...**_

"_Is this what you wish to do…? You know you aren't obligated to do this."_

_The Shield Hero looked towards the figure in the horizon, the sea billowing in the far edges of the world. The sound of crashing waves and the whistling, salty winds washed over their bodies as a woman in an ocean blue revealing swimwear attire, with sapphire chains and white cloth around her waist and chest. Long black hair shimmered like the waves of the ocean and sea blue eyes sparkled as the woman smiled towards the man she admired for so long._

"_Yeah… I hope you don't mind." The woman smiled and lazily answered back, pretending to stretch and letting her hair be carried higher in the wind. "There's some good fishing spots here, with fish different from Q'ten Lo." The Shield Hero only rolled his eyes, knowing that this was how she always acted: a playful person, but dedicated and dependable. Smiling at her words, the Shield Hero walked up to the pale-skinned woman, smiling at her playfulness._

"_Is that what you really think?" He snidely asked, his eyes narrowing, along with his playful smile towards her. "That's what I thought. Perhaps orcas were more shallower than I thought."_

"_Hey! Shut up, Shield jerk!" The woman hissed at him, a frown crossing across her face._

"_Heh. Maybe more like a dog than an orca..." The Shield Hero gave a small chortle. He was joking, and she knew it too. But two can play at that game._

"_Oh~?" She smirked, sliding an arm across his shoulder in a seductive manner. "Do I have to give a little something for my big bad Shield Hero?" He knew that she was joking, so instead of shoving her away like always, he instead put her into a friendly hug, which was a surprise for her. Since when did the Hero… hug her? She melted in his embrace, but the Shield Hero let go before anybody could look, and gave her a soft slap on the back._

"_You horny harlot! You know I have a wife and a place to settle, you know. I don't think you want her ire right now anyway." The Shield Hero reminded her, which made her look away in embarrassment, remembering the things the Shield Hero's wife has done in revenge. However, she wasn't going to be seen blushing towards her handsome leader after only a simple hug. However, this led to a serious question he wanted to ask. "Is fishing and protecting the dead all you're going to do in this place?"_

"_Huh? No, of course not. I do more than just fishing!" The orca demi-human pouted, but a knowing look from the Shield Hero prompted her to continue. "I'll be Iwatani's guardian, a protector against all threats against the village. That's what I shall vow to you, Master Naofumi."_

"_Vow? As in…?" Naofumi looked at the woman with surprise, who knelt down on one knee. Her slave marker on her chest revealed on her fair skin as she recited her vow._

"_I, Sadina of Q'ten Lo, previous disciple of the Water Dragon and the Heavenly Emperor, vow to protect the town, Iwatani, with my dying breath, under the name of the Legendary Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani. For my life and this town is yours." She recited, her slave mark shimmering a bit, before she looked up at the surprised hero's face, taking in his features with a smirk. "I'll make you proud, Master Naofumi Iwatani. This village... will stay strong, even after I pass."_

**.o0o.**

"No…!"

The landing was indeed rough, but everybody didn't suffer any more injuries thanks to the **Spider Web** not knocking them around the cart. Naofumi jumped off, sprinted towards the ruined gateway, was greeted to the sight that he wouldn't believe possible.

"No…! No no no no NO!" He shouted out in escalating volume, as he ran towards the front entrance of his beloved home that he built with his own two hands. The other party members slowly walked out, covered in web, before seeing their stoic leader lose it.

"Master Naofumi?! What are you-?!" Raphtalia cried out in worry, before seeing the sight of what he was freaking out to, and promptly gasped.

"Wait… this is-!" Keel went wide-eyed and backed away slightly, bloody memories resurfacing from the depths of her mind. The place where she lost her parents, Raphtalia's parents, everybody she loved…

"Home…" Raphtalia muttered, going to her knees. The ruins of brick houses and wooden floorings littered the open area near the rocky clifftown. Long tall grass and moss overtook most of the destroyed houses, their once countryside acres, old gardens, rice fields and farmyards eroding away like a memory.

Ake and Rino looked at the grim setting of the destroyed land, and shook at the atmosphere and death in that sight. But Naofumi's sanctuary… is this ruin? The same town that the demi-humans lived in, and subsequently decimated by the first Wave of Calamity?

"AAAUUUGGHHHH!" A scream of pure calamitous rage snapped the four of them out of their stupor, as Naofumi let out his voice of hate and acrimony into the sky, his own suffering reaching a breaking point as he slammed his fists into the ground, forming small spiderweb cracks. "Who…?! Who…?! Who could have…?!" The man muttered questions, his own rage preventing him to think straight, as the same black miasma of despair began to erode from his body, which was a warning sign for his party, who ran towards him, worried about his well-being.

"Naofumi?!" Ake shouted to him worryingly and tried to move closer, but his legs wouldn't let him. That black miasma he saw right in front of him… His body felt like hard lead, and his mind felt like it was receding away. Rino was the first to fall from the deadly killer intent that Naofumi was exerting, falling into her knees and crying in a fetal position, with Ake turning around to help her move away. Raphtalia and Keel didn't fare much better, as they were struggling to even breathe at this point. All of them would have fainted from the sight, if Naofumi stopped releasing his killer intent towards everything around him, and focused it towards the front. Gripping his stick, he let out a scream, and slashed the air around him in blind rage.

"**AAAUUGHH!**" He shouted out, his 'sword' stick beginning to glow, as he slashed to the left, releasing a giant spear of clear blue ice from the ground. The two demi-humans tried their best to go to Naofumi and comfort him in his more diresome, but that black miasma felt unnatural, forcing them away like the dreadful soul-rending roar of a monstrosity. Normally, demi-humans had a way to communicate with others through their hearts and soul, helping others share their grievances and burdens, but this…? No sane demi-human can handle a fraction of what Naofumi was releasing, but Raphtalia and Keel aren't going to give up. Slowly, their legs wobbled and trembled, like children with atrophied legs, towards their master.

Naofumi let loose another attack in his **Holy Knight** class in his fit of rage, releasing cleansing fire on the right, burning away the grass with relative ease. Growling incessantly, he began to aim towards the ruins itself, raising his sword shakily. Purple holy lightning coursed through the stick and his arm, ready to deliver a powerful blow that could definitely finish off the town. And with that, Naofumi brought his arm down… but two pairs of arms held him back.

"No! Stop!" Keel called to him, trying her best to stop him from using whatever attack he was going to unleash. Pulling his arm as hard as she could, she tried her best to prevent the man to let loose, while Raphtalia grabbed his other side and tried to talk sense into him.

"Master! Please! Don't do it! Snap out of it!" The raccoon girl pleaded to him, trying her best to ignore her animalistic instincts to run away from Naofumi. Instead, she clung to him and his arm as hard as she could, looking at him with her tearing eyes. "Please…! You'll destroy the town!"

"**GRrrrrrRRrRRAAaaahh**hhhggghhhhh….!" Naofumi again tried to struggle against the two of them, his body moving like a mummy. Slowly he was losing energy, as his legs wobbled. "Must… kill…! Must… **KILL**…!" The Shield Hero summoned one last burst of stamina… and threw his stick to the ground.

**SNAP!**

A shattering snap of ironwood was heard. Naofumi's stick, his only means of attacking, snapped in two at the force of him throwing it at the ground. The snap nearly caused all noise to cease, as Naofumi fell to his knees, crying. The two demi-humans knelt down and immediately tried to help him up. However, the man did not move, or at least he did not even try to fight against Raphtalia and Keel helping him up. Ake walked up, with Rino, unconscious in his arms, looking at Naofumi and the ruined town. "Master Naofumi…" Raphtalia looked at him with worry, then at the hometown she once lived in. To see him suffering and crying from the reality of what was right in front of them made his party's hearts weep. The sight of Naofumi outright bawling changed how they saw him. He certainly didn't feel like a Hero anymore. Instead, he was just a broken man, weeping over the fact that his home, the village he built as a sanctuary, was destroyed.

"Ake! Lord Shield Hero!" The voice of Étoile running towards them, along with the rest of the carts and townspeople caught up, and seeing the destroyed town, the pillar of ice on the left, the blue fire on the right, and Naofumi… sobbing.

"W-Wha… What happened…?" The woman asked, as the other villagers joined in, confused about where they were. It was going to be a long night.

**.o0o.**

"Daddy!"

The young princess Malty hobbled towards the throne room, where King Aultcray stood alone, almost as if he was waiting for someone. He looked like he had a panicked expression on his face before, but hearing Malty's voice, the king of Melromarc turned and welcomed her, reassurance slowly coming back to him.

"Ah, Malty!" His voice tried to remain composed, but seeing her in a serious/worried state, he assumed something was wrong. "Did something happen to your excursion? What happened?"

Malty shook off the questions of the concerned parent, and spoke her own piece. "Never mind that, Daddy! Something happened in Lute! A giant pillar of light just-!"

"What...? You saw the pillar then?" Aultcray widened his eyes, almost as if someone close to him was murdered. Before he could go full parent mode, a new voice interrupted him.

"Yep. Close up, right in front of the beam. Just a few inches away from having her face saved off from the burning light of God! Got a few hairs singed, but at least it wasn't her beautiful face." Tact's dramatic voice caught the two's attention. Malty's face turned to embarrassment and irritation from his words, but the King's visage, for some reason, began to twist into disgust and outrage just from looking at the young prince. "Probably should have stayed home, Princess. But I understand. Being near ye old King Stuffiness would make your entire body go into jitters, am I right?" The blonde man smirked at the gray-haired king, who narrowed his eyebrows.

"You... I never remembered inviting you here, _nephew_." Aultcray replied back with a sneer, which made Tact smirk.

"Surprised to see me, you old bag?" The young man crossed his arms at his uncle, laughing at Aultcray's expression. "Always love the look of your expression, your Stuffiness."

"Ugh... I thought hearing the Shield Hero use that mannerism was bad... What you are doing here?" Aultcray rubbed his temples when asking that question. "And before you start, I'm not interested in hearing you brag about your latest 'catch of the hour'." That made Malty raise her eyebrows at Tact, as he continued to be unfazed from his uncle.

"Aww, I'm so happy you remember, uncle," Tact responded in a mocking sort of way as he casually walked towards the King. "But I would _never_ do that to my dear cousin of mine. Buuuuuuuuut!" The man then zipped in a blink of an eye towards Malty, and leaned on her shoulder in a charming way. His fingers touched her chin and have her face him. "The position is open for you, my dearest. If you wiiiish." That got two reactions out of the other two occupants in the room.

'_W-What speed…! And… latest catch?!'_ Malty had the look of shock and disgust as she looked at his dumb smiling face. Shock, because of the speed of him going to her from a good three metres in less than a blink of an eye made her guard rise. Disgust because of the implication of the position. A few seconds ago, the crimson-haired princess didn't know what Aultcray meant, but the moment she heard the preposition from Tact's mouth, she backed away from the man. "W-Why would I want to join your harem?!"

Aultcray had a differing reaction from that.

"YOU WILL NOT!" She roared at the young man, who clearly didn't care what his uncle said. "You will NOT lay a hand on your cousin like that!" The king gripped hard on the leather biker jacket Tact was wearing and pried him off of Malty, who looked bamboozled that this lecherous man was, in fact, her cousin. However, Tact's expression changed from flirty to irritated, as he grabbed Aultcray's shoulder with his own hand and gave him a hard slam to the ground.

"Hands off the jacket, your Dumbness." He spat out, his demeanor changing to one of spiteful anger. Stepping on the back of the stunned king with his boot, he brushed off his jacket's wrinkles, specifically where his father gripped him. "This is the prince's jacket. A priceless, recherché Faublen symbol of its pride, and you got your grubby hands on it!" Tact snarled towards his uncle with spite. Seeing him writhing in pain, the prince of Faubley smirked, before an ornate axe materialized from his hands. "I'll see to it that you die because of that!"

"No, stop!" The voice of Malty stopped Tact in his tracks, as his eyes glances at her worried face. The man looked into her eyes and then lowered his axe.

"Malty…!" Aultcray's voice wheezed out from his mouth, before the pressure of Tact's boot got heavier on his back.

"Hush, old man. The lady is speaking." Tact reprimanded, before walking to the princess. "That's strange coming from you, Lady Malty." The man cheerfully noted, which confused Malty.

"H-Huh?"

"You say that you want me to stop from killing your dear father…But your eyes tell me a different story." The man gingerly brought his head towards her ear, whispering his next line. "In reality, you wanted me to kill him, don't you?"

Malty's eyes widened from the brazen accusation, but held her tongue… because, thinking back, that thought crossed her mind.

'_I want to be queen… and Mother and Daddy are in the way… but k-kill them…?!'_ She thought to herself, almost screaming in her mind. It was immoral to even have thoughts of killing her parents, the ruling two, but for some reason… it excited her. The thought of regicide actually made her want it to be a reality, and for some reason, a little voice inside told her that he NEEDED to happen…

_**Go on… let him murder them!**_

"Heh." The smirking prince moved himself away from the pair, crossing his arms. "Anyway, we're here for the Pope. Doubt you've seen him, old man, but best I ask: you've seen him?"

"Rgh..." The old man slowly stood up, a prominent muddy footprint on the back of his royal robes. Before he could answer, the sound of chamber doors opening echoed in the throne room, with the Pope slowly coming out with a smile.

"Ah, Your Highness, Princess and…" The Pope scanned his eyes through the trio, until his eyes landed on Tact, with a glare, not even hiding the resentment. "...you."

" 'Sup, Popey? Hope the will of God Himself isn't being... bothered right now." The heir to Faubley just waved with his trademark smirk. Aultcray looked at the two of them, and widened his eyes.

"Wait… Your Eminence, you know my nephew?" Aultcray stammered, not believing what he was seeing. However, the High Priest did not say a word, as Tact spoke on his behalf.

"Not just a plain 'know', you Stupidness. Because nobody doesn't know the great Tact Arusahorun Faubley!" The man arrogantly announced, showboating himself. "I'm his tactician, and his own little secret helper in the shadows. Sounds awesome, doesn't it?"

"W-What?!" Aultcray looked incredibly baffled from hearing those words, as if he heard someone poisoned his drink.

"No way!" Malty, instead, looked as if she was impressed and awestruck by the man's record. Tact smirked to himself at that amount of attention. The Pope only narrowed his eyes at that.

"Do not presume to think that you are _my _'tactician'." The High Priest had to keep his anger down, but the three occupants knew that the man of God wasn't too pleased with Tact. "Lest you wish for judgement to be rained on you and your kind." However, Tact wasn't threatened at his words at all, and brushed it off.

"Ah right, thanks for reminding me of that 'judgement' bit." Tact thanked the Pope, who nearly sputtered, hearing his unexpected, unfearing reaction towards the Holy Word itself. "That's right, both of us have done quite a few projects. Like raising Melromarc back to its prominent status after the war with Siltvelt, spreading the religion all over the region, and, just recently, the rebellion against some of the Juvenile Knights! Along with a few others, of course..." Tact listed out, feeling proud of himself from those feats. While it was something to be thankful for, Aultcray couldn't help but think that the last feat was incredibly fishy. Did Tact mean that he helped with quelling the forces? Or did he really mean that he instigated it all? "But that isn't important right now." Tact shook his head, and looked at the Pope. "We got just one teensy weensy thing we wanna share, if it isn't too urgent, your Eminence."

"...Then speak, for even God loses His patience after being undermined for a third time." The Pope warned, before Tact handed a blue crystal with a string around it, the **Linkshell** that the young prince found in the deserted Lute.

"Channel a small amount of mana into it, and watch the events they show." Tact informed, and the Pope did just that, channeling mana into it and watched the events that has portrayed, his serene expression changing from calm to severely mad.

**.o0o.**

The night was just approaching the realm, the sun setting into the evening. Many of the travellers of Lute began to clean up and camp out in the ruins of the unsettling village. While some were initially creeped out from the ruins, they ultimately had to make space in them to pitch their tents. Nearby a campfire, Naofumi was sleeping near the bright burning inferno, a first time in quite a long while, his mind in dreamland after his episode, with Raphtalia and Keel watching over him with worried eyes, sitting right behind him, their hands on his body, wishing he would come back to life.

"It felt like only yesterday, hasn't it, Keel?" Raphtalia asked her best friend, a sullen expression on her face, seeing everybody crowding around their campfires to get warm from the cold seaside air.

"Yeah… it is." The wolf girl could only reply back with those words. Playing with Naofumi's hair with her fingers, she narrows her eyes. "And it's hard to believe that this place was… well… a 'sanctuary', as Naofumi puts it."

"It felt like a sanctuary to me…" Raphtalia looked around her, taking in the destroyed houses. She could remember all of the people walking through, farming, talking, selling, buying, and just being generally friendly. A tightly knit community, in her mind, could be considered sanctuary.

"Yeah. Gotta agree with that. Remember those bunny kids who would always pull pranks and steal from the mole farmers for fun?" Keel nudged her elbow at Raphtalia's side, who smiled at the memory.

"Oh yeah, I remember! Didn't the farmers have to get up extra early just to scare them every time?"

"Yep! But they did keep an ongoing war with them, which was hilarious!" Keel chortled at the memory. "Although, I think that was why we had no tomatoes for a good long while..."

"Wait, wasn't it because of that tomato fight you started?"

"Hey! Thought you forgot that memory…!" Keel stammered, trying to keep her blush down, which made Raphtalia roll her eyes.

"No way… I couldn't forget that food fight!"

"Well, good! I hate tomatoes!" The wolf girl childishly pouted, but then slowly, the two of them broke into good-hearted laughter for a good thirty seconds before calming down. "Yeah, those were the days…"

"And now, they're gone forever…" Raphtalia added, sounding somber, bringing herself back to reality. Keel didn't want to agree, but she can't waver on it any longer.

"Are you two okay?" Metal footsteps were heard as the demi-humans turned their heads towards the three newcomers.

"Sounded like you two were going mad for a second." The young girl was concerned for the two, but Keel shook her head.

"No need to worry about us, Ake, Étoile, Rino. We were just soaking back the memories we had, while we were growing up." Raphtalia reassured them, seeing as their duties to watch over the people are over and they are coming here to relax. The male knight and the female warrior sat down together on the other side of the campfire under the stars, with Rino sitting nearby Keel and Naofumi's head.

"Oh? What was it like?" Rino asked, curious on how a demi-human village worked.

"Well, it was like Lute… quaint, relaxed, peaceful, away from humans…" Keel recalled with a smile.

"It had a lot of farming, due to the abundance of good soil, fresh water from the well and clean air too. Along with a small school, an artisan for stone cutting, a market, and even a lot of fishing." Raphtalia continued, with the three of them looking on with intrigue, although Étoile had a flash of guilt on her face.

"Really? That sounds wonderful…!" Ake let out with wonder. "It must've been a paradise then."

"Not everyday." Raphtalia kept her smile as she continued. "Keel would always be excited to fish, but after that dreaded day, she refused to learn how to swim." That got a raised eyebrow from Rino and Ake, who looked at the sputtering Keel.

"EEEK! You promised you would never tell them!" Keel crossed her arms in an X, reinforcing that she doesn't want it said, but Raphtalia giggled and said it anyway.

"That began when she thought catching a fish requires hooking it with a line, then jumping in and catching it with her own two hands as it was hooked. Boy, it was funny seeing her both tangled and struggling in one-foot deep water." That got a good laugh out of Ake, Raphtalia and Rino. Keel only looked down in embarrassment.

"Stoooop…" She bemoaned, but got a hug from the laughing Raphtalia.

"It's okay, Keel. You learned how to fish later on, right?" Keel only nodded in reply. However, all of them noticed that Étoile wasn't acting her normal self. Her head was down, shadow covering her face, as she hugged her knees.

"Étoile?" Keel asked. "What's wrong?"

"...Tell me, Raphtalia. Keel." She whispered, enough for the demi-humans to barely hear her. "This is the place you two grew up in, correct?" That caught the two demi-humans off kilter a little, but they nodded.

"Yeah. We grew up here… But then the Wave happened. The soldiers nearby tried to defend us, but they were subsequently killed by white-cloaked monsters and dog monsters, and then afterwards, the knights captured all of us, along with killing any adults, and branded us…" Raphtalia replied in place of Keel. However, that got a reaction out of her, as tears came out of Étoile's eyes.

"I'm sorry…" She apologized. Everybody looked at her with shock as she got up and knelt down, her head touching the floor. "I'm so… so… so sorry, Raphtalia, Keel."

"W-Wha-?" Keel looked lost on why Étoile was trying to take blame. "What do you mean? You weren't part of the Wave, nor the knights that kidnapped us, so…"

"No… but my adoptive father…" She muttered out, and Ake was close to putting the pieces together.

"Your adoptive father?" Rino parroted.

"Wait… You mean, Lord Seaetto?" Ake's words made Raphtalia and Keel widen their eyes. Finally, it all made sense.

"Yes… he died in the Wave, trying to protect this village from the monsters… But I wasn't informed of this, until weeks later… And even still, I-..." Two hands fell on her shoulders, stopping her from speaking. That is, until she heard the two demi-human girls speak.

"Don't cry, Étoile…"

"It's okay… We forgive you…"

Those words alone made her heart break, as she came back up onto her knees. "B-But how…? If I could, I would've rescued all of you…"

"No… What's done has been done. There was no way we could have prevented it all from happening..." Raphtalia comforted Étoile, with Keel calmly smiled at the young warrior. The two of them then hugged Étoile, who proceeded to let it all out, tears and all. Ake smiled at the bittersweet reunion, and Rino smiled at the sight too.

"Although…" Keel's voice cut through the moment. "I wish Big Sis was here..."

"Big Sis?" Rino asked, with Ake raising an eyebrow

"I know!" Keel ignored Ake's confusion, as an idea popped into her head. "We can have Étoile be our new big sis!" Raphtalia absorbed the idea, and promptly smiled at it. It didn't sound half bad.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!" Étoile looked confused, before she was tightly hugged snugly by two young giggling demi-human ladies. "Welcome to our party, Big Sis!"

"B-Big Sis?" The cat girl raised an eyebrow, then promptly smiled. She was never the big sis in the family before… but it was a good change of pace. Hugging the girls back, she accepted her title and giggled back.

"W-Wait, then what am I? The big brother?" Ake decided to join the fun and pointed at himself.

"Heh, of course! Get in here, you!" Keel gave him a bear hug, as the four of them looked to be inseparable. That is, until they saw Rino's confused face. "Oh, forgot about you, lil' sis! C'mere you-!"

"Ehhhh?! W-Wait!" Rino waved her arms around as she was scooped up and hugged to death by Keel. Struggling to get air in her system, she tried to ask her question. "W-Wat dew yew meen by beeg siiiiiis?"

"Huh?" Keel released the shy mage girl, but didn't let go of Rino. "What did you wanna say?"

"I meant to say: 'What do you mean when you wished 'Big Sis' was here'?" Rino asked again, a little ruffled by the hug.

"Ohh." Keel looked to the side, her mood shot down yet again. It was the same for Raphtalia too. "We have… or used to have… a guardian for this town. It's why we didn't have any monsters nearby."

"Really? She sounded quite like a fierce fighter." Étoile commented, with Raphtalia nodding.

"She was, but she was also adored by us. We called her Big Sis, since she would always play with us, or help us fish, or save us from danger, or even scold us when we were bad. Didn't she rescue you from the one-foot deep water one time, Keel?"

"Drop it... please?" Keel begged, but shook her head from being sidetracked. "She would always fish and play in the water, since she was an orca demi-human from a faraway land. Big Sis said that she was also more than a hundred years old, but many of us didn't believe it. I just wonder… where was she when the Wave and the knights came…"

"...Oh, I'm sorry…" Rino respectfully apologized, feeling like she has hit a sore spot. "C-Could you tell me her name? If it isn't too much to ask?"

"Sure." Keel replied. "Her name is-."

"...Sadina."

Everybody's eyes widened at the new voice they were hoping to hear. Turning their heads around faster than they ever had, their eyes spotted Naofumi, slowly stirring awake.

"Naofumi!/Lord Naofumi!/Master!/Lord Shield Hero!" All of Naofumi's party members rushed to his side, looking over him and smiling, thankful that he was okay. However, nobody seemed to notice a flash of dark green in his hardened eyes.

"Oh Master Naofumi! I'm glad you're-!" Keel cheered and was about to hug him, before suddenly, Naofumi's hand shot out towards Keel and gripped her qipao collar hard. Everybody else gasped, as Keel was pulled close towards Naofumi's face, which looked a lot less serene, and a lot more threatening. "M-Master?" She trembled, before his raspy snarling voice reached all of their ears.

"_**Where.**_

_**Is.**_

_**Sadina?"**_

* * *

**It's a hard time for me, but I was able to get this one out. I had a bit of fun with this one, especially with Tact's personality. Hope you guys like it.**

**Now, some of you readers are not going to like that Sadina's from more than 100 years ago, but this is how the story goes. Some characters from the Rising of the Shield Hero canon will appear in this story, but only from 100 years ago, and not in present time, while others will be completely new characters. Here's the thing: Sadina didn't appear in the anime or manga yet, and nobody is really using her for fanfiction just yet (maybe except for a few I missed). Therefore, she is moldable into whatever canon anybody wishes, and this is the role she is taking. I'm sorry for you loyal Sadina (or Sadeena) fans, but this is how the cookie crumbles.**

**Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more chapters! Please review, favourite and follow! PMs are open too!**


	23. Chapter 23: The Past Comes Back

**************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**************

**Sorry for the wait. Hope you're ready for a plot dump.  
**

**I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_We were caught. Utterly and foolishly caught. What a fool I was. I tried to leave during the night, with Kelga, Ghido and Fitoria in tow, but apparently, the king had me played for fools, all part of his... grand plan to finally eradicate Melromarc for good. And what I heard was the most accursed and angering things I have heard. He said he was the 'master', and I was the 'tool'. His words: 'a breeding tool to procreate demi-humans with the Shield God's blood and power', which has already happened with those women that I slept with. He told me that I was staying here, no matter what, and my teammates... no, **friends** were going to be executed for 'betraying Siltvelt' in his eyes._

_That did it. How I hated him. Not only was he going to abuse someone to fulfill his own war, he was going to execute my **friends**. I couldn't have that, and apparently, a voice within me agreed. Something deep within me raged... and boy did it rage. All I remembered was unloading everything on them, and the flaming corrupting rage was unleashed. I remembered what has happened, from burning many of the soldiers to nearly losing control, if it wasn't for my three **friends** calming me down. _

_At that point, the flames have died down, and everybody had their eyes on me. While I was calm, I was only managing to hold all of my rage inside, as I roared at the king that I was human too. I didn't care who his name was, nor what his position of power was to me. His deeds were nothing more than bribing, and that he should watch what he says, lest he makes an enemy with me, a 'human'. My **friends** and I walked out of the Siltveltian gate without looking back. __I think it also struck a chord with everybody, as two more adventurers joined my entourage: a pheasant bard, and the King's daughter, a fist-fighting tiger cub__._

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 7_

* * *

_The world was calm and melancholic, as the crashing waves on the rocks, along with the whistling wind, were the only sounds that occurred. The nighttime sky and clear moonlight reflected off the waving water's surface, the entire rock shelf glowing a spectacular sapphire hue. The darkness of the night surrounded a group of adventurers, all of them around a campfire, sitting and resting, recounting the tales that have happened in the daytime._

"_Ugh… Can you please hurry it up?" An impatient pheasant demi-human scholar implored, nursing his own injuries as the team of adventurers' healer continued to wrap the bandages and channel her healing chakra on the arm. Instead, the healer heard those words, narrowed her eyes, and smacked the bandage-wrapped arm, which made him screech in pain. "YEEOOOWW! What the-?! What gives?!"_

"_Be quiet, or I can break this arm again. Got it, Akoner?" The healer warned, who had white tiger ears and a striped white and black tiger tail behind her. She was garbed in a thin white robe, with tape wrapped around her chest. Few claw marks and scars adorned her arms and legs, but it gave her a sort of rugged veteran look. A headband was wrapped around her forehead and short white hair, her garb wrapped with a long brown rope. _

"_Y-Yes… Ms. Kiara." The pheasant nodded, scared of the predator, before looking away, muttering something about scary tigers. The aforementioned Kiara rolled her eyes as she finished up sending healing chakra down the pheasant's arm, mending the sinew and bone._

"_Right. How are the others, fearless leader?" Kiara called to her master, who was at the other side of the campfire. A green armored man with a shield continued to use his limited healing abilities on the lesser injuries of his three other party members. One of them being a turtle beastman, scratching his head and holding his coiled wooden staff, his left green scaly arm in a cast. The second being a canine demi-human girl, her dog ears wiggling as her leg was wrapped in bandages. The third wasn't actually injured, but was a giant fluffy white bird with blue feathers around her neck. Her eyes were closed, resting from the tiring mission they had._

"_They're fine. Let me help you out, Kiara." The green armoured man stood up and walked towards her, but she shook her head._

"_No need, Master Naofumi. A __**Holy Monk**__ like me is able to handle it." The tiger demi-human gave a sly knowing smirk. "You go rest… and check on your 'captive'."_

"_Captive? Get real. It was a rescue mission." Naofumi rolled his eyes, which made the others giggle and chortle._

"_Sure she's a captive, Naofumi." Akoner smirked at the Shield Hero, despite his injuries. "Make sure she's nice and comfortable, and add it to the collection."_

"_We have some wine in the back, just for you two lovebirds to share!" The jolly turtle sage gave a hearty laugh at the face of Naofumi rolling his eyes._

"_Ooh! Ooh! Get some snacks too, like those luchol berries! Share some to the orca lady, Master!" The wolf girl chipped in, unaware that she's adding fuel to the fire. Naofumi facepalmed as the gallery laughed even harder, their memories remembering the time when a hooker trying to hit on Naofumi ate one (at his behest), and then promptly fell to the floor, foaming in the mouth due to the amount of alcohol._

"_Ugh…! Ghido! Kelga! Shut up!" Naofumi snapped at them in irritation. The turtle, named Ghido, tried his best to calm himself, coughing a little in the process, even slapping his knee at his best friend's demeanor, while Kelga, the dog girl, pouted, wanting to sneak some food, unable to do so due to her leg. The giant filolial only opened one of her eyes, seeing as the jokes and banter were finished, and looked at Naofumi._

"_Are you done, Master Naofumi?" The bird asked in a hopeful voice, her feet rustling, almost getting ready to move._

"_No, Fitoria. Just need to check on our… **guest**." Naofumi replied, emphasizing and hissing out the word 'guest', which made Akoner and Ghido smirk. The Shield Hero stood up and walked to the black-haired woman, with white skin, black hair and in a battle priestess's garb, completely with blue armor and black cloth that hugged her curvaceous figure. Her trident was stabbed into the ground, and she was leaning on it, watching the fire with guilty eyes. "What's wrong, Priestess Sadina?" Naofumi asked, looking at her with sympathetic eyes, and snapping her out of her daze._

"_Hm?!" She snapped her attention back to Naofumi, and then lowered her gaze. "O-Oh… nothing, Shield Hero…"_

"_Liar." Naofumi replied, turning his body towards her. He knew that, from all the times she had to travel with him as a __**Guest**__ party member (one who follows the group, but cannot have their equipment changed), she was a very fickle, shy yet very orderly woman, according to the teachers of the Dragon God that Q'ten Lo, a town far out in the deepest seas, preach and praise. 'Our kind, over their kind.' They would say, just like 'the wise and powerful Dragon God doth say' to perform for the masses. Before, Sadina would follow those teachings to heart, along with her sister Sildina, as guardians and priests of the Q'ten Lo temple, offering prayers and slaying trespassers. The people looked up to her, and the king would even praise her for her skill._

_However, today was the very day her ideals were challenged and she had to choose a side. Before, she was washed up onto shore, beached and trapped by other hunters… until Naofumi and his party rescued her. While she was grateful for the assistance with traveling back to her hometown, what she did not know was that traveling back to Q'ten Lo was a death sentence, especially since being rescued by an outsider. What she also did not know was that her rescuer and hero was, in fact, the Shield Hero, an outsider who, from generation to generation of Legendary Heroes, was a staunch opposer to the Dragon God and her supposed enemy in the upcoming war._

_Her people did not like that she was rescued by him, and was close to being put to death by the angry king, the people, and even her sister (according to Sadina), until Naofumi and his party raided Q'ten Lo, causing lots of structural damage and possible deaths, and rescued her, barring some near-death situations and the destruction of the portal leading to Q'ten Lo._

"_You know what's wrong. I would be shocked if you weren't shaken by the near-death experience." Naofumi continued, which made the atmosphere a lot more heavier. _

"_I-I… I just…" Sadina stuttered, unable to answer. She didn't know if it was fear or worry that was getting to her._

"_Oh god… Don't tell me..." Naofumi pressed on. "You want to go back to Q'ten Lo?" That made Sadina blow a casket._

"_NO! NOOO!" She snapped at him, which made the others look at her oddly. The woman could only blush from embarrassment, making Naofumi sigh. _

"_Seriously? After everything we just went through to rescue you, you STILL want to go back?" Naofumi asked again, putting his hand on the side of his face._

"_No…! I... Uh…"_

"_You're hesitating…"_

"_S-Stop it!" She hissed at him, wondering why he was pushing her buttons, almost as if he was urging her to leave. "I don't want to go back! How can I?! When the right thing has been done, yet the people are too blind to see what's right and what's wrong?!" Silence rang in the night air as Naofumi's eyes were looking at the woman, who immediately wanted to hide back into her shell. However, the Shield Hero only smiled and nodded._

"_Good answer."_

"_W-Wha?" The orca-lady was shocked at what he had said. "What do you mean 'G-Good answer'?!"_

"_That's our Naofumi the Shield Hero for you. Judging people by reading you, pushing their buttons, and determining your character." Ghido explained in a jovial manner._

"_Didn't you learn in Siltvelt academy not to stare and interrupt?" Naofumi glared at the turtle, who only shrugged._

"_Not my fault. We just wanted to spice things up, if you know what I mean." The eyebrows wiggled, which made Naofumi's eye twitch._

_"Can it, you! Seriously, shut your shell for once!" Naofumi barked at him._

"_Really? Thought he would make like a rabbit and rut, considering he's a sexual symbol for the ladies back home." Akoner added, a smirk going across his face._

"_You shut up too!" Naofumi was getting really tired of dealing with his party, but his annoyed thoughts stopped as a cloud of smoke erupted, and suddenly he felt two small hands wrap around his waist._

"_HISSSS! Back off! Master Naofumi is miiiine! HISSSS!" A small girl with blue-silver hair hissed out angrily at the orca-lady. The tight grip the girl had startled Naofumi, and tried to get the girl off._

"_Fitoria! Stop!" The Shield Hero commanded the young girl, who was once a transformed giant puffy soft bird, yet the girl didn't let go. The other party members laughed at the mishap Naofumi was in, and the atmosphere of dreariness went away, transforming it into jolly fun. Even Sadina laughed at the atmosphere, the first time in the longest of times that she was having a good time. It was something she would never forget, and a point where she would shed her own shyness and orderly behaviour… into someone more outgoing._

"_So… what do I do now, Lord Shield Hero?" The orca demi-human asked, the laughter dying down into the tranquility._

"_Lord Shield Hero? That's new." Naofumi wondered out loud. "What do you mean?"_

"_I meant… what will you do with my life, Shield Hero?" She reiterated._

"_Dunno. Start living it? That's always a start."_

**.o0o.**

"_**Where.**_

_**Is.**_

_**Sadina?!"**_

The Shield Hero growled, his eyes narrowing menacingly as he slowly stood up, the fire reflecting off his skin. Everybody was suddenly on edge as their leader grabbed his pugilist party member by the qipao. Ake, Rino and Étoile had no idea what Naofumi was on about, and Raphtalia were no better knowing how to help.

"Gaugh! M-Master, you're-!" Keel tried to speak as best as she could, trying to struggle out of his grip in her panic, but Naofumi's hands were too strong.

"Where is she?!" He yelled at the young woman, who flinched from his anger. Keel froze from the anger in his eyes, unable to pry her own eyes away. Raphtalia shook out of her stupor and walked up to him, trying to pry his hands off of Keel.

"Please, Master! Let her go! You're hurting her!" Raphtalia begged her master, however, that only set her sights on her, as his other arm grasped Raphtalia by her chestplate. His gritting teeth bared towards the two demi-humans, he was quickly getting impatient at their lack of an answer.

"Tell me!" He yelled at them fiercely again. His breathing began to get ragged in his own anger while looking at the clueless two.

"Naofumi! That's enough!" Ake took the initiative, and him, along with Étoile, ran up to the man, trying to pry him away from the two girls, but Naofumi still wasn't budging.

"You know her… Tell me! Where is Sadina?!" He demanded once more. However, Raphtalia and Keel picked up something in his voice that made them stop. His voice cracked. It began to sound like he was begging to know.

"W-We… we don't know." Raphtalia muttered to her master, which made Naofumi's arms shake, slowly losing strength.

"Please tell me you're lying…!" His voice cracked even more, his anger slowly dissipating into worry. The others began to see Naofumi, specifically his eyes slowly tearing up. "Please! You have to be…"

"Master Naofumi, we would never lie to you…" The raccoon girl replied with a heavy voice, emphasized by showing her slave seal not going off. Keel got the same message, revealing her slave seal not going off, which made Naofumi lower his head.

"No… Where could she have gone to…?" He asked himself, letting go of his slaves. Knowing that he was close to attacking his own party was on the back of his mind, as the gears of his mind shifted, wondering where Sadina could have gone, to be foolish or courageous enough to leave the town she has vowed to keep safe. Naofumi then raised his head, seeing his party, for the first time ever, standing back from him, wondering what he is thinking about. Raphtalia seemed to be worried about him, but Keel, for once in her life, felt hesitant, as if she was betrayed. Ake and Étoile looked to be wary, while Rino shivered behind the male knight. The silence was absolutely deafening, the cracklings of the campfire were the only sounds in the tension that was rising.

"..." Naofumi only stayed silent, his face blank and neutral at his party… before turning around. His party was shocked at the audacity that Naofumi didn't even show an ounce of care to apologize. Instead, he just turned heel. Grabbing a small log from the campfire pit to use as a makeshift torch, he began to walk away from the party.

"W-Whoa wait! Where are you going?!" Étoile demanded to Naofumi, rushing up to him and gripping him on the shoulder. "Lord Shield Hero! Apologize to Raphtalia and Keel now!"

"..." Naofumi didn't say anything in response. It didn't look like he was being an overly jerk, but he didn't really want to say anything back, almost as if he was focusing on other things. Étoile did not take it lightly, and tried to force Naofumi to turn.

"Well?! ANSWER ME!" The warrior cat demi-human yelled at him, the cat's eyes sharpening towards the Shield Hero with righteous sisterly fury. "Do you have any idea just Before she could say another word, however, Ake jumped into the one-sided conversation.

"Étoile, I think that's enough." Ake softly told her, but she harshly turned around to her friend, almost as if he was crazy.

"What?! He still needs to-!"

"I'm not going to apologize..." Naofumi interrupted the catgirl. "Not yet..."

"W-What…?" Étoile could only be completely befuddled by what he was saying. Could this hero truly be so arrogant

"I need to find her… I need to find Sadina…" He began to mutter, which was loud enough for the entire party to hear. "I can't rest… until I get my answers from her… and her alone."

"W-Wait… You know Big Sis Sadina?!" Keel reacted, as if the most unbelievable thing has reached her ears. "But that's impossible… You were never seen in the village before the Wave… so the only way you must have known her is…!"

"...Is if you were over a hundred years old…" Raphtalia finished, widening her eyes, realizing just who this man really is. Throughout it all, Naofumi stayed silent from all of this, waiting for Étoile to let him go, who was also starting to become really confounded.

"But wait a minute… No human or Hero could ever live that long…!" Étoile couldn't wrap her head around that fact. It simply felt impossible unless Naofumi met Sadina at a later time, but a gasp from Rino made them turn.

"No… You couldn't be…" Before, the little girl did not think that Naofumi could be the man who was over a century old: the man who knew about the sluices underneath Melromarc so well, to knowing that the Siltvelt soldiers used to burrow underneath and defeat their enemies in the war 150 years ago. The man who was named after the town he built with his own two hands. The man who has known a companion from the same timeframe a century and a half ago. There was only one answer… "You… You're THE Iwatani… Naofumi Iwatani...! The previous Shield Hero from the war between Siltvelt and Melromarc!"

That came as a bomb dropped to all of them, their mouths agape, their eyes widening at the new information. Suddenly, it made sense, why Naofumi knows Sadina, why he knows this village in its true name Iwatani, why the Shield Hero is so adept in combat, why the Shield Hero knows so much about the world and how it works.

"There's no time." Naofumi suddenly said, avoiding the revelation altogether. "I'm going to search." The man then turned around and walked towards the darkness, but was once again held back.

"B-But… But you need to rest! You haven't slept in at least a day yet!" Étoile hastily warned like a mother, but Naofumi only glared at her.

"Then you stay here and rest." He told her off, and began to depart.

"Then let us go with you, Master!" Raphtalia begged, unable to stay silent. "We need to know what happened to Sadina!"

Naofumi halted his step, and turned his head towards the group. Raphtalia looked determined to go, with Ake nodding. Keel had a hesitant look on her face, but she also wanted to go. Rino looked interested to go learn more about the Shield Hero, and Étoile only sighed in defeat, and nodded that she will tag along. Seeing their expressions, Naofumi turned heel and walked towards the darkness, with only this to say.

"Do what you want."

**.o0o.**

The group's thoughts as they walked through were strictly on Naofumi, as they walked through the long grass. They didn't want to believe it, it felt like the man's demeanour has changed almost drastically when they first saw him.

"Keel?" Her best friend looked at the wolfgirl with worry, as she has taken the brunt of Naofumi's attitude the hardest. She was, after all, the one who was grabbed by the collar first. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" The wolfgirl raised her head, wondering who said that, before looking at Raphtalia. "I'm fine, Raphie… but…"

"..." Raphtalia waited, as Keel trailed off.

"F-Forget it…" She only muttered, but Raphtalia gently tightened her hand over Keel's.

"Please tell me, Keel." Raphtalia spoke up, worried for her friend. It wasn't like her to keep secrets, since she was so bad with them. "If it's about Master-..."

"N-No! There's nothing wrong with me!" Keel stammered, shaking her head fiercely in denial. Raphtalia stayed silent at her words, as if taking it in with a large amount of doubt. Seeing her friend being vehement about it, her friend decided to drop it.

"Okay… if you want to talk, I'm here for you." The raccoon girl reassured her, before continuing to follow the guiding light. She still had her own suspicions and assumptions, but it wouldn't be right to voice them, with the whole party listening in. With the way Naofumi acted towards her… towards everybody that just wanted to help nowadays…

Could it be that Keel was starting to become afraid of Naofumi?

"Here…" Naofumi's voice caught their attention as he stopped over a ring of eight overgrown rocks. Memories of decades past echoed in his mind, his breath sullen at the sight; the campfire, all of his old demi-human party members from a century and a half ago, their laughs, their banter, their friendship, everything… "...It was here."

"Huh? What was?" Rino asked, confused about what he was talking about. Without answering, he only held his hand up above the circle of rocks, and a small magical glyph appeared underneath. Everybody was entranced by the sight of the circle, as Naofumi began to recite his incantation.

"**Latent truths and destructive lies, unbound thee by your keepers and reveal thyself unto thy world."** He recited, ancient magicks and power resonating on the glyph, before it disappeared, along with the ground underneath it, revealing a hole, a run-down ladder and a spiral staircase of rocks underneath.

'_Whoooaaaaa…_!' The two knights and the mage were amazed, but kept to themselves as they gazed as the newly formed hole. However, Raphtalia and Keel widened their eyes, looking at the hole and Naofumi.

'_W-Wait… those words… Big Sis used to say those words…_' They simultaneously thought, the secrets slowly unraveling who Naofumi really is. The ladder looked nearly broken, and the spiral staircase looked like it hadn't been used for at least a hundred years, reduced to purely rocks and coral.

"Down here." Naofumi told them, as he jumped down into the stairs and began to walk. The others followed down using the ladder, and walked down. It felt like the air was a lot less fresh, and a lot more saltier, as the sound of waves crashing onto the walls were quieting downcast but were echoing a lot more than before. It was like the steps of a fearsome giant.

"Incredible… how long do these stairs go?" Étoile breathed out, looking at the old rocks on the wall. Slowly she began to see the rocks be replaced with coral, as the red light from the makeshift torch illuminated the way forward, the rough textures of different shapes of the pieces of reef underneath, much like fossils.

"These stairs..." Keel muttered out loud, looking around. "It led to Big Sis's home. But I've never seen the insides before..."

"Big Sis has always lived here, and she said it was the same home she had ever since the mysterious departure of the Shield Hero." Raphtalia added. "It was also a place where she mentioned that she is the gatekeeper of her old home that the Shield Hero rescued her from…"

"Q'ten Lo. Of course..."

The words of Naofumi made everybody look at him. "Q'ten Lo? The eastern Kingdom nearby the sea?" Rino inquired, genuinely interested as her book smarts were keeping her on track. Naofumi didn't turn or stop, but he sighed and nodded.

"That place… I haven't heard from that kingdom in a long time." Ake thought out loud. "I remember from the history books that Q'ten Lo hasn't been able to do anything in the war 150 years ago, as they were allied to Melromarc against Siltvelt."

"And after that, they've gone completely quiet… I wonder why…" Étoile asked herself.

"The books say that the kingdom was isolated on the islands, and far into the East, farther away than Siltvelt, and Zeltoble. It would take a long time to get to Melromarc by sea." Rino informed, remembering the details about it. "However, they have a portal that could shortcut all the way to the Melromarc region, but it was destroyed nearly approximately a century ago. Many have said that the Shield Hero had something to do with it, as he was a peerless strategist, and a fearsome foe to fight against."

The party soaked it all in, in awe that Naofumi was capable into doing just that. Their eyes were on the back of his body, missing him tightening his free hand into a fist.

"That…takes me back." Naofumi began to reminisce, hearing the fighting, spells flung back and forth, soldiers gruelingly killing each other. While Siltvelt had peerless fighters, Melromarc had magic, and lots of it, able to fight back with artillery, magic and due to them having more funds and allies. Melromarc, Zeltoble and Q'ten Lo versus Siltvelt. A disadvantageous three versus one, but Siltvelt had the Shield Hero known as Iwatani, the one who saved and won the war for demi-humans.

"...Is it really true, Naofumi?" Ake asked, whispering in amazement. Naofumi stopped, feeling the coral wall, as he only muttered out one word.

"Perhaps."

"...What do you mean 'perhaps'?" Étoile questioned, puzzled at his vague answer, but Naofumi only grunted, and walked ahead. The coral rocks were slowly being replaced with pure dry coral reef, the hue of the world changing to a deep blue, reflecting from the water's surface from the moonlight. Drips of water fell from the stalactites on the ceiling, the air becoming much more moist. The walking continued, as Kel began to wonder more about Sadina and Q'ten Lo.

"So… what else is in this 'Q'ten Lo' kingdom, little sis?" Keel asked. Rino made a small 'eep' at the words 'little sis', before calming down, shaking her head and explaining.

"W-Well, the Kingdom had a religion that they practice, much like the other kingdoms. They worship the Heavenly Emperor and the Water Dragon." She finished, but was shocked when she heard a cynical and dry half-laugh from Naofumi.

"Hogwash." The man spoke, narrowing his eyes as he stopped in his tracks. The others began to listen, wondering what his history was with Q'ten Lo. "Their hogwash religion and belief were what made them fall in the first place. Full of blind believers of the truth, they do not know that their Heavenly Emperor was just a corrupt man on a seat."

"Wait… a corrupt man?" Keel reiterated.

"A corrupt noble who didn't know the workings of the world, along with his 'pet' and 'reincarnation' of the Water Dragon." Naofumi explained in a cynical tone. "Many of the kingdoms that waged war against Siltvelt were controlled by corruption, while Siltvelt just freed itself from the oppressing monarch itself. Q'ten Lo and their false beliefs, along with their Emperor's and his Water Dragon's greed for more. Zeltoble and their pride as warriors and mercenaries creating arrogance within their numbers. Melromarc… the Queen's vanity, madness and cruelty, along with her own pet: the Spear Hero."

"W-What?! The Spear Hero?!" Étoile looked positively baffled. The Spear Hero waged war against the Shield Hero? Was that even allowed? She knew that the heroes had to be summoned to different kingdoms, but to go to war against each other?!

"The Spear Hero Yokubo Kawatta of Melromarc. The Sword Hero Ryudo Kaidame of Q'ten Lo. The Bow Hero Hokotora Yoichi of Zeltoble." Naofumi listed out in order, in a tone that sounded incredibly spiteful. "Against the Shield Hero Naofumi Iwatani… of Siltvelt. It was a long, hard battle, but we destroyed the villains and eliminated the corruption..."

"And then Siltvelt won, right?" Rino filled in, but Naofumi shook his head, knowing the truth about war.

"There are no winners in war. Only those who survived and can rebuild. Each kingdom was lucky to have survived, but the hatred of man and demi-human was passed down from fathers to sons. For only fools run this world, ruining everything true heroes have built." The ambiguous words at the end made Rino and Ake tilt their heads in confusion, but Étoile, Keel and Raphtalia knew what he meant.

The hatred between humans and demi-humans.

Naofumi ended his conversation as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "We're here. At least, I assume we are." He noticed two things in the small hallway he and his party were in. A pile of rocks with runes carved into them, which looked to be inactive for a very long time, to the point of being unrecognizable, and a large pile of rubble blocking what seems to be another cavern.

"That must lead to her room." Raphtalia looked at the rubble, and both her and Keel walked towards the cavern, but stopped as they noticed Naofumi looking at the rocks with runes on them.

"What are those, Naofumi?" Ake wondered, as he and Étoile walked up to him.

"The portal that leads to Q'ten Lo." Naofumi stated, getting up and shaking his head. "But it hasn't been activated for the longest time… The magic within the runes have been lost for years."

"Oh… Which means?"

"She couldn't have gone back to Q'ten Lo." The Shield Hero told himself, before standing up. Turning around, that left…

"How are we gonna break through this?" Keel tried to remove the rocks, which were heavy. She couldn't punch through them, due to the piles of rocks being more packed in and able to sponge punches, compared to the properties compared to a large big rock.

"Keel, Raphtalia, move aside." Naofumi ordered, making them look at him. His torch dwindled from the condensation of the air, but it slowly began to spark with electricity, making them back away. Taking a deep breath, Naofumi concentrated on his stick, the **Holy Knight**'s **Holy Sword Arts** coming back to him.

**Naofumi Iwatani; Holy Knight Lv 30**

**[Rebel Captain] All party allies and alliance members, which is anybody under your command in separate parties, deal 40% more damage. All rebel knights and traitors will follow your every command.**

_**Time for the kings to bow!**_

**HP: 4000**

**MP: 2250**

**Attack: 125  
**

**Defense: 110**

**Speed: 95**

**STR: 122  
**

**VIT: 119  
**

**DEX: 95  
**

**INT: 80  
**

**WIS: 104  
**

**LUK: 88**

"Now…" Naofumi muttered before starting an incantation, white light coming out of his body. Purple lightning sparkled on the stick, as the others watched in awe. No holy knight they ever saw was able to do the things Naofumi could do. **"I call out to the skies and tremble, as the brilliance of a thousand bolts blinds mine enemies and tears their flesh asunder. Hallowed Bolt!"** The purple lightning sparkled and crystallized forming a jagged sword made of thunder. With a thrust, the man drilled into the pile, the rocks forming a path slowly but surely, until the attack exploded, with rocks flying all over the place. The party shielded themselves from the rubble, revealing the cavern from within. The group wordlessly walked in, the answer waiting for them inside. Slowly, they walked across the damp flooring, their footsteps echoing in the room, wondering what is beyond to give Naofumi the answer he seeks.

'_I better get an answer, Sadina. Why didn't you defend Iwatani?'_

* * *

**************THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**************

**I gotta sleep. I really do. **

**I will do the usually Yes or No answer thing next chapter.**

**Hope you guys had a good Halloween! And I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**


	24. Chapter 24: Back To The Past

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!********

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

_Blacklisted from Siltvelt. Didn't think it would happen, but it happened. We regrouped to the town that was known as Rabier territory, in hiding from other onlookers. I heard this country is in the midst of civil war on whether or not demi-humans rule or humans rule, but who cares? I don't think dealing with formal intruders or ambassadors from Siltvelt or anybody would be helpful in the slightest._

_Thankfully, I had my friends were supportive of me. Ghido shoved away his playful attitude and became more closer to me, incredibly thankful that I would save him from execution from his own kingdom. Kelga cried heavily, hugging my torso and wouldn't let go. Fitoria would have done the same, if she had hands. So she just stuck to her whole body, which got a laugh out of all of us. Now for the more recent party members? Well, I was still wary of them. Understandably so, since they kind of joined out of the blue. How can I sum it up...? _

_Akoner is... also playful, but annoying at some cases (goddammit Ghido...). A skirt-chaser but tries too hard. Upbeat and cheerful, yet not really sure if it's the whole religion thing or actually genuine. Can get carried away with his performances, but with a large audience, he tends to get stage fright. Kiara, on the other hand, is calmer and stoic. Strong with her fists, yet she... isn't very sociable. A princess who is a lot more older than she seems Tries to be motherly, but sadly that comes with arguments against Akoner. A lot._

_I wish I could club those two with my hands, just to shut them both up, if my Shield would actually let me. However, a thought did come to my head... "**What if they are here... to send me back to Siltvelt? How will you ensure their loyalty to you?**"  
_

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 8_

* * *

"_Hey, big sis…! Big siiiiiis!" The voice of demi-human children cheerfully calling for their guardian were heard, as the bustling townspeople continued their own daily chores and happenstances. The motley group of tykes, no older than seven or eight years old, wandered towards the edge of the sea, where their guardian would be._

"_Maybe she went fishing?" A little Raphtalia wondered out loud, tilting her head in a thinking posture. Another child sneered at the thought, and looked out towards the sea._

"_No way! Big Sis promised that she'll teach us how to fish in her special fishing hole!" The wolf child named Keel denied, keeping her hopes up. Many of the other kids nodded, with a few, including Keel, salivating over the thought of tasty meat and fish to eat at the end. However, a third child, with golden weasel ears, blonde hair and shining golden eyes, only rolled her eyes with a smile._

"_Really? It sounds like you're more interested in eating fish rather than fishing." The weasel girl retorted, grinning and laughing at the young Keel sputtering._

"_N-No, that's not it! I swear, Rifanie!" Keel tried to vehemently refute to her close friend Rifana, but a growl from her belly betrayed her intentions. The girl tried to cover her stomach, muttering curses at her own stomach as the other kids laughed at her misfortune for being proven wrong. Even Raphtalia and Rifana were laughing with them, knowing that it was all in good fun. _

_Soon, a splash was heard from the sea nearby, and a wide bipedal orca whale, with exotic clothes, large loincloth and metallic cufflings, leapt out of the sea. While it would scare any normal human being, these kids smiled wide and ran to her._

"_Big siiiiis!" They yelled out in unison, excited to see her. The orca, with a blue flash of light, transformed into a woman with long raven hair resembling an orca's tail, and caught all of the kids barreling at her for hugs._

"_Hey, you guys!" The cheerful lady said her hellos, catching all of them in her arms. The motley group were a giggling mess as they tackled around the orca demi-human, happy that they get to see her. A few demi-humans, who were passing by, were smiling at the adorable scene. "How're you all doing?"_

"_Gooood!" All of them replied back with such cheeriness that it made the woman's heart squeal, witnessing such adorable children coming to her. She was lucky to have them in her life, as it helped her realize the little things in life were just as important for protecting, as opposed to the bigger picture. Compared to who she was before she met the Shield Hero, she probably would have shook her head and laughed at the notion._

_Back then, she had to be an orderly priestess named Sadina, being forced to help her people, no matter how petty or ungrateful, with their own small problems, spread the glory of the Heavenly Emperor into giving him more gold and praise and, worst of all, dealing with many of the corrupt nobles who wanted her body, men and women alike. Even death must be welcomed, for there was no hate or like: she just had to do it for the word of the Heavenly Emperor is absolute, they say. However, it all changed with the Shield Hero._

'_What do I do now, Lord Shield Hero?'_

'_Dunno. Start living it? That's always a start.'_

_The moment she began to live her life, her heart began to realize what she really wanted. A life without traditions. A life without corrupt decrees. The Shield Hero and his party were testament to that; a group without boundaries and tethers, helping those in need. It made her truly look up to him, maybe even love him: someone who knows the true value of everything in life as sacred and cherishable. And that was who Sadina herself wanted to be like today: from orderly and fickle, to being free-spirited, loving and… still fickle, she will admit._

"_So are you little guys ready?" The woman asked them, bending over to see their faces stretch wide with smiles._

"_YEAH!" The children cheered, Keel, Raphtalia and Rifana jumping with joy over the thought of fishing._

"_Then close your eyes!" That made the kids stop and look at her oddly._

"_Huh? But why, Big Sis?" Keel asked. She wasn't gonna make them fish with their eyes closed, are they? The smile on Sadina's face widened even farther as she put an open hand near her mouth like she was whispering a secret._

"_Because the place I'm taking you, is the most suuuuuuuuuuper…!"_

"_Suuuuuuuuuuper…?!" The kids echoed with anticipation and excitement._

"_Speeeeeeeeecial…!"_

"_Speeeeeeeeecial…?!"_

"_Seeeeeeeeecret…!"_

"_Seeeeeeeeecret…?!"_

"_Fishing hole you'll ever see!" She drawled out, seeing their hype going into overdrive, to the point of bouncing on their feet._

"_SHOWUWSHOWUSSHOWUUUUSSSS!" They quickly begged, the anticipation killing them, but she waved her finger._

"_Ah ah ahhh~ eyes closed first!" They shut their eyes completely, occasionally peaking, getting an unclear picture of the backside of Sadina, before they hear her uttering an incantation._

"_**Latent truths and destructive lies, unbound thee by your keepers and reveal thyself unto thy world!"**__ She recited, with a small rumble and shift of the earth. The kids didn't know what happened, but then a flash of light engulfed their slightly peeking eyes, and orca fins wrapped around them, before quickly and carefully bringing all of them down to… whatever she revealed. Keel and Raphtalia didn't open their eyes, lest their surprise was ruined, but they heard Rifana make a small 'Whoa' of astonishment._

"_Hey! No peeking!" The voice of Sadina, in her orca form, made the little girl squeak, before covering her eyes again. More footsteps later, the orca's footsteps slowed down and placed their feet on the ground. "Okay! You can open your eyes! Welcome to my home!"_

_The group of children finally opened their eyes… and gazed sight at a crystalizing cave filled with blue crystals shimmering and illuminating the cavern. Inside, pictures and memorabilia hung around the halls of the crystalline cave, from picture frames, sparkling blue scales and jewelry of many colours. "Whooaaaa…" Their jaws dropped, nearly forgetting that there was a fishing trip. They were all so dazzling, yet aged enough to see just how ancient and historical they were, while simultaneously looking amazing. What stood out in her memorabilia were a rugged green cloak, a painting of a man with black hair, and even a toy shield. The kids knew that she used to be one of the Shield Hero's companions, fighting in great battles, rescuing great people and becoming strong to find treasure with him, but now it was even more apparent, and it made Sadina even more awesome in their eyes._

_Sadina giggled at their own expressions before moving aside. At the very far end of the cave was a grotto, with a large connecting pond and river, which was only a foot deep, but still possibly teeming with fish. "Hope you didn't forget why we're here." Sadina reminded them in a playful manner, snapping them out of their reverie._

"_Yeah!" Keel responded with such hunger and glee: it was fishing time. Supplied with state-of-the-art fishing rods and lines, the children laid their hooks and bait into the stream, waiting for the fish to come in. After a few moments, the water flowed faster, glistening even more, as fish was beginning to swim against the current._

"_Woooow…" The kids were in awe at the sight of the fish. Whether it would be beautiful and sparkling to one, or plump and juicy to another, all the kids were mesmerized._

"_Heeheehee~. Don't get distracted!" Sadina snapped them out of their reverie, and it made them focus. The fish began to nibble on one of the hooks and soon took a bite out of it._

"_Oh! I caught one!" One of the kids blurted out as he, with some assistance from Sadina, pulled out the fish gently. The fish struggled on the hook once it left the water, but immediately it was dehooked and placed safely in a separate bucket. The other kids cheered, but then noticed their lines were being pulled. _

_"Ah! Me too!"_

_"A fish! A fish!"_

_Soon, one after another, the kids pulled out fish from their lines, satisfied with their own pulls, even Raphtalia and Rifana… but not Keel. She hasn't even pulled out one fish._

"_Grr…! Cmon!" Keel's frustration began to emanate, if the tightening of the rod and the shaking of the line wasn't apparent enough. Seeing as everybody got their own meal except hers, the impatience was getting to her, and soon, she couldn't hold back any longer. "BITE, YOU STUPID FISH!" She roared out, surprising everybody, even Sadina, as she threw the rod up into the air, along with the hook, and began to slam it back down onto the ground. _

"_Keel!" Raphtalia called out, seeing the girl go into a tantrum. However, the floors, moistened by the drips of water from the fish, made the girl slip, going face first into the water. All the fish swam away, as the wolf girl struggled to get up, despite the one-foot deep water._

"_AIIEEE! KEEL!" Sadina shrieked and pulled out the coughing girl onto the cavern surface. All the children checked up on the girl who nearly drowned, letting the saltwater come out of her mouth. After a moment, Keel clung onto the woman and cried, tears falling out in streams from her eyes._

"_Waaaaahhhhh!" She cried out, as the other children felt bad for her. Sadina could only hug her back, patting her back and whispering to her ear that it was alright._

"_There there… it's okay, Keel…"_

"_B-But… but I wasn't able to get a fish…" The little girl bawled out, her stomach still growling. "And now I'm gonna get hungry…"_

"_It's okay, Keel!" Rifana came into the conversation, smiling as she held her fish to Keel. "You can have my fish instead."_

"_And mine too, if you want seconds." Raphtalia added, bringing her fish in. The thought of her two friends helping her was enough to make the girl cry out of happiness and hug her two friends._

"_Thank you… Raphie… Rifanie… But..." Keel muttered out. While it was the thought that counted, the girl still needed to settle the score. "I-I need to get my own fish. I-I j-j-just…!" The girl began to hyperventilate as she drew close to the water's edge, and shivering at the feeling. Sadina, realizing that the girl may have developed a case of hydrophobia, began to recite her own phrase._

"_**If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.**__"_

_The children looked at her. It was the first time hearing that phrase at all, which prompted Sadina to smile at them. "Children, don't be afraid to try again. We all make mistakes and failures all the time, but keep trying and one day you'll be able to get it."_

"_E-Eh?" Keel absorbed the words her older sister figure advised. The gears working in her head, if she kept fishing over and over, she'll be a master of it, able to eat all the fish she wants, whenever she wants. "Just… keep trying…"  
_

"_That's right! Just like the Shield Hero!" Sadina reassured the wolf girl, who smiled back. Rifana, on the other hand, along with a few other children, looked at her oddly._

"_What do you mean 'Just like the Shield Hero', big sis?" Rifana inquired, which got Sadina smiling at her._

"_Because the Shield Hero once said that." That got the weasel girl to widen her eyes. It was no secret that Rifana had a straight up crush on the Hero, with the idyllic dreams of marriage and children. "His words and vow to protect was what helped win the war against the humans, and that was one of the lines he would say."_

"_REALLY?!" That got the kids asking lots of questions, with Sadina giggling. Thinking about it, if the Shield Hero was here, he would have loved to talk with them; he was always good with children._

"_Yep! Now, let's go back! I'll tell you more stories, like how Naofumi got the Vassal Trident for me!" She excitedly told them, all of them looking at the glimmering weapon. She wouldn't trade this life for the world._

**.o0o.**

The crystals were still glowing an aquamarine blue, much like the sea, but it imbued a different feeling. Instead of feeling a sense of tranquility and wonder, everybody felt a twinge of dread. Nobody knew what was beyond the caverns, yet it was as if the smell of death hung from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet.

Before, Naofumi walked with the knowledge and conviction, wanting to throw all of his anger towards her, but now… he could smell the scent he hasn't smelled in a long time: spume. Keel began to pick it up, and it was really pungent, to the point of covering her nose.

"Eww… What's that smell…?" She whined, lowering her head, hoping the scent would leave. Raphtalia and Étoile noticed it too, yet they didn't flinch.

"It smells…" Raphtalia began, not like what she was smelling.

"...like brine." Étoile ended, as the smell is becoming more prevalent and saltier as they progressed.

"Ew… it's like something died here…" Rino stated, with her nose pinched.

"Is it normal for a cave to smell like this, Naofumi…?" Ake asked, covering his nose.

**Squeesh…**

The sound of Ake stepping on something squishy and disgusting caused him to recoil. However, what he thought was brown and sticky, turned out to be white and foamy… and nearly dry. "Huh? Foam? Is that supposed to be there…?"

That was when Naofumi stopped dead in his tracks, noticing another one just ahead… except this one outlined the shape of a human being. "No… they're not." Naofumi whispered to himself, before running ahead, knowing just what the foam was.

"W-Wait!" The others called out to him and tried to catch up to him, noticing more and more white dried froth on the floors or even on the walls, with rusted weapons stuck on the walls. Soon, they finally reached the final chamber, with the stream at the other end, adorned with abundant blue crystals, and memorabilia, which were scattered and broken, dust collecting onto the material. Wooden charms were broken in two, paintings were dusty and ruined, and a green cape was ripped to shreds.

"This… This room…" Raphtalia thought out loud, seeing the same crystals and items about the Shield Hero, all strewn around.

"...It's big sis's room… And that's her trident!" Keel muttered, seeing the same hole she fell into when she was a kid. However, that wasn't what caught the other party's attention. Right in the middle of the room, there was briny foam in the outline of a body laying spread eagle across the floor, with an orichalcum trident stuck onto the ground. What seems like a hair band, jewelry and lone cloth were in the mess of briny sea foam.

"Her trident?" Ake wondered out loud… before widening his eyes as his eyes lowered towards the ground. "Naofumi… is that…?"

"No way. Could she have…?" Naofumi asked to himself out loud, as he looked at the body, unable to believe in assuming what… or _who_ the foam belonged to. He needed to know for sure, since he just couldn't believe Sadina would let Iwatani fall. How could he know for sure?

**That's easy.**

A single red notification, familiar to Naofumi, appeared in front of him, speaking to him in red text in a box. "What the hell do you mean, 'that's easy'?" The man snarled, his party looking at him oddly. To them, it was as if Naofumi was talking to his own Shield, since they couldn't see the red notification.

"Huh? Naofumi, I never said anything like that." Ake told him in a befuddled manner, as he and his party walked up to him. They looked a little concerned as the raven haired man was staring hard at the Shield, with annoyance and bitterness in his eyes. Naofumi didn't respond back, but he furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of the notification box only he could see.

**It seems you don't even know. After all the millennia you spent living and gallivanting as the Shield Hero, you still don't have a grasp at what you are truly capable of.**

"What…? Wait, millenia?! What the hell do you-?!" Naofumi tried to interject, but suddenly, he felt the Shield constrict around his wrist, with a green gas erupting from the legendary weapon itself. The gas began to encircle not just Naofumi, but the room itself, as the red gem begins to transform from a clear red gem to a green demonic eye. The others gasped and recoiled, as the cavern itself was enveloped completely, warping perception and reality itself.

**.o0o.**

The party opened their eyes into seeing the cavern again. The world itself didn't feel different, yet it certainly was, by the looks of it. The wooden charms and knick-knacks were hung on shelves of rock, neatly and tidely. A painting of a familiar man, along with a green cloak, was also hung on the wall, over top the fishing stream. "Wait… what was the point of that gas? Did it just… make the room tidy?" Étoile hypothesized in such a confused manner, looking around with raised eyebrows. Rino looked on the floor and noticed another thing.

"The weird foam is gone too… like it never was there…" Rino explained out loud. Indeed, all of the sea spume that outlines human bodies were gone.

"Naofumi, what did you do? Who were you talking to?" Ake began to question him, as he was not making heads or tails of what's going on, and Raphtalia and Keel were no better. All eyes were on the Shield Hero, who was still looking at his own weapon, until he gritted his teeth.

"This place… what the hell are you trying to show me…?" Naofumi growled towards his own defining weapon. The eye on the weapon only looked back, blankly staring back at Naofumi.

**The truth.**

The notifications reached only to him in a manner that wasn't going to speak any more, but Naofumi felt like he understood what it was trying to say. He was still confused on how it was happening (It could be either the Shield itself, or the **Shield of Despair**, Naofumi thought to himself), but what was being shown to him could not be denied. "The truth." He answered, looking back at his party. "This… is the past, Ake." The party widened their eyes. Was the Shield Hero capable of doing this? None of the legends have ever spoke about the Shield Hero capable of doing this.

_The water rippled and shimmered, until a large figure jumped out of the pool, releasing a sack of fish onto the floor. That figure was actually a bipedal orca, who quickly transform into a black-haired woman, breathing heavily and stumbling on her feet._

"B-Big Sis Sadina?!" Keel stammered, seeing the woman right in front of her, appear right in front of her. She reached out with her trembling hands, but she phased right through the orca woman, and recoiled at the discovery.

"It's an illusion…" Naofumi murmured, with the others taking it in as the scene played out.

"_No… no no no!" Sadina muttered as her chest shuddered painfully, reacting. "Why did it have to be now?!" The woman berated herself as she began to run. However, glints within the dark caverns shined as arrows zoomed towards her at breakneck speeds. Sadina widened her eyes, and rolled to the side of her room, with her arm unfortunately getting nicked by an arrow._

"AHH!" Rino ducked in reflex at the arrows going towards her, only for them to phase right past her. Seeing them go through her, she relaxed, but turned her head to see who fired them.

_Rapid footsteps made their way towards the pained Sadina. Blue-clothes assassins, with scaly designs and jade embroidery charged towards her, with coral knives and swords aimed towards her. All of them bore the mark of the Water Dragon._

"_Q'ten Lo assassins? Here?! But how?!" Sadina didn't think twice. Despite the slave crest's pulsating pain, she swung her trident at them with incredible power, parrying their blows. One of them leaped and aimed for her face, with the other sliding underneath, attempting to slash at her legs. The woman jumped, grabbing the dagger and impaling the assassin with her Vassal Trident, while simultaneously stomping on the second one with both her feet, crushing the ground beneath her. Kicking away the dead assassin on her feet and throwing the other dead one away to the crystallized wall, she turned to face her surprise adversaries, wincing in pain. "How did you get here? How did you find me?" Sadina demanded, as she knew that it would take an incredibly long time to get from Q'ten Lo to the Melromarc region due to the distance and dangers, plus nobody should have tipped off that an Ex-Q'ten Lo priestess was in hiding here._

"_That information is irrelevant. You will face justice in the hands of the Heavenly Emperor within the eyes of the Water Dragon if you must." One of the assassins snarled in anger, as he jumped towards the woman, transforming into a bipedal shark, intent on chomping on Sadina with one big bite, but Sadina was experienced enough to know what to do, nor was she in the mood for games._

"_**Lightning Impaler!"**__ Sadina did a thrust with her trident, with lightning physically forking outward inside the shark's innards. The attack pierced through the shark demi-human's insides, electrocuting him fully, before being thrown back. A couple of assassins were crushed underneath, but most of them got out of the way. "I don't have time for you! Out of my way!" She roared, rushing towards the exit._

"_Get her!" One of the assassins threw all pretense of silence out the window and charged towards Sadina, with the others rushing in as well._

It was a gruesome fight, as Naofumi and his party watched her slaughter like a warlord, slashing and stabbing the assassins, despite fighting the increasing pain. However, Raphtalia looked pained as she saw Sadina wince continuously.

"Master… that's…" The raccoon girl stuttered as she pointed at Sadina's chest, a familiar mark pulsating in pain, due to the defiance of an order.

"Yeah. That's her slave mark. She was a slave to me over a century ago." Naofumi told her straight up, without looking away. She, and Keel, gasped at that revelation.

"W-What? Why would you do that to Big Sis?!" Keel exclaimed, flinching from a fling body going through her.

"During war time, betrayal and dissension was a non-issue due to the slave marks. But now…" Naofumi growled, feeling an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time: pain. Keel wanted to knock Naofumi upside the head, but she stopped at the sight of his pained face. It was the first time she has ever seen it.

_The last assassin was left, now completely afraid at the sight of an angry Sadina, limping in pain, as she walked towards the exit._

"_Y-You c-can't l-leave yet, n-n-not until y-you f-face your j-j-judgement...!" The last assassin, who seemed to be a green member of the ranks, stammered, the fear of fighting one of the past Shield Hero's companions, who fought and destroyed half of Q'ten Lo and isolated the country for over a hundred years, nearly getting to her. Sadina did not speak, but doubled down in pain, as the slave mark intensified greatly._

"_GAAAAAUGH!" Sadina screamed out, the pain finally registering from losing even a small amount of her adrenaline, and she fell onto her knees in abject pain. The assassin saw her in pain, and saw a window of opportunity to strike. Readying his dagger, he jumped in and stabbed her, causing her to scream louder. "GYAAAAAAAARGH!"_

"_Grr…! Missed…" The assassin mumbled to himself, pulling out the dagger from the shoulder. Calming himself down, he aimed his weapon towards the jugular this time, and swung. However, Sadina began to push back the pain, grabbing his arm before it could cut her neck._

"_Out of my way…!" The woman growled in primal rage, transforming into her orca form and roaring at the assassin, who lost all his strength in fear. She bit down on his shoulder and threw him to the wall, before reading her trident arm back._

"_Out!"_

_**SHUNCK !**_

"_Of!"_

_**SHRACK!**_

"_MY!"_

_**SCHLAK!**_

"_WAY!"_

_**SHLASH!**_

_The fourth stab of her trident left the assassin dead, maimed and mutilated. Sadina transformed back, panting in exhaustion, the pain still evident on her chest and left shoulder, before she snapped her head towards the entrance. "The children!" She told herself, before she began to run, despite the pain._

The world warped again, reality transforming the cave into a town on fire. Corpses of demi-human adults, children, monsters and soldiers litter the grass, as the flames of destruction consumed buildings and crops. The wind felt harsh and cold on their skin as everybody looked around, noting where they are once again.

"I remember this…!" Raphtalia paled at the sight of her hometown, destroyed once more. Keel thought the same thing, shuddering at what she was seeing. However, a struggling cough interrupted them.

_Sadina popped out of the hole, seeing the town in complete destruction. Bodies of adults littered the floor, and the town was destroyed and burning away. The sky was red and purple, as if a catastrophe just occurred. Tears flowed out of her eyes as she became devastated at the reality. "No…!" Sadina muttered out, but she can't give up yet. Standing up, she began to search, looking through the houses, seeing whether or not anybody survived… until she heard a cough. Looking around, she followed the sound until she came across a knight, his legs crushed and broken under debris, still alive but barely._

"Wait, that symbol on his shoulder…" Étoile noted. "That's a symbol of House Seaetto, but… where is Father?"

"_What happened? Where's Lord Seaetto? Where are the children?" Sadina demanded, as the knight looked at her, coughing blood in the process._

"_Monsters… killed… adults…!" He tried to speak, struggling to stay alive. "L-Lord Seaetto… murdered…" That was a shock indeed, as Sadina widened her eyes._

"_W-Who…?" She began to ask, with the knight having this to say._

"_Church… The Church… of… of the Three… Heroes…!"_

"_W-W-WHAAAAT?!" Sadina exclaimed._

"W-W-WHAAAAT?!" Étoile exclaimed at the same time as Sadina. The very same religion within the very same kingdom that she herself trained and fought for?! The cat girl shuddered in rage, gritting her teeth as her breaths quickened into hyperventilating. Ake came to her side to comfort her, as the others watched on. Naofumi couldn't pry himself away to help Étoile, instead, he continued to watch.

"_No… all of Seaetto…" Sadina winced in intensified pain once more, the pain becoming less like hot irons on her chest, to more like being stabbed multiple times in the heart. "B-But what of the children?! Where are they…?!"_

"_Taken… away… to Idol Rabier…" He muttered, before falling limp and breathing his last. Sadina covered her mouth. She knew of the sick nobleman, his sick devotion to his Melromarcian faith and his even sicker machinations towards demi-humans. Hearing that he, along with the kingdom that opposed her and the Shield Hero's beliefs, has taken away the children she grew to adore with all her heart… she couldn't take it anymore… and screamed._

Everybody was speechless at the sight, seeing someone whom either they have grown to love and admire over the years, or learned to see just how much of a good person she has become, lose everything in an evening. Ake and Rino had pity written all over their faces, seeing a guardian and an old companion of their fearless leader break down after losing everything. Raphtalia and Keel had sorrowful looks, crying that their guardian must have been suffering so much, while looking all over for them. Étoile felt immense guilt over what she has saw; her own adopted family being betrayed behind the back of the kingdom, and how blind she was for not seeing it. However, no one was as hurt or in shock as Naofumi. He watched the entire thing with the belief that somehow someway she has betrayed and abandoned him and his beliefs in some fashion, which was protecting Iwatani and defending its people. But here she was, fighting, searching, while agonizing pain… until her last breath.

"_I have to find them!" Sadina stood up, trident in hand. "I… I-!" The pain was too much, and she coughed out not blood… but sea spume. "N-No…! Not… now…! I… c-can't…!" The woman coughed out even more, realizing that the pain was beginning to kill her, as more of the white froth began to drip down from her arms and legs, as if she was melting like a snowman. "I'm dying…"_

"W-What's happening to her?" Rino asked, seeing the Sadina illusion limp back towards the hole. Naofumi gritted his teeth, the words having a hard time coming out of his mouth.

"The people of Q'ten Lo are empowered to have a long life, thanks to the Water Dragon's Blessing." Naofumi explained with grim detail. "But, damn me, there's a caveat. When you die…"

**.o0o.**

"... you fade away into the sea, as spume."

Reality changed the setting once more, as the party was transported back into the cave. However, the bodies of the assassins were now dissolving, in a rather gruesome manner, into spume, which further drove the discovery home. Ake looked horrified at that info, as did Rino, who went pale in the face while holding Ake's hand. Étoile covered her mouth, as if she was going to throw up, while Keel and Raphtalia were in literal shock.

_Sadina continued to limp forward, her bodily form slowly being lost in the numbing pain on her chest. Every step she took, she left small amounts of spume on the floor. Her arms twitched as even her hand was struggling to keep the Vassal Trident in her grasp. "Grr.. can't…" She fell onto her knees, her legs losing all strength, and used her Trident to hold her steady…_

...right in front of Naofumi. "Sadina…" He muttered, unconsciously going to her at knee level. "I…"

"_I'm so sorry…" Sadina muttered, feeling her life slowly leave her, as a puddle of spume formed underneath. She didn't know who she was talking to, but she had to get it out now, so she raised her head forward, as if Naofumi was there in front of her. "I don't know if you're listening to me in the afterlife, but… I'm sorry… I'm so... so... sorry..."_

Naofumi's eyes widened, seeing the raw emotion, pain and turmoil she had on her face. Her blue eyes were now bloodshot red and tearing up, her hands trembling at her last line at life. It made his heart twist in guilt and shame, knowing what her fate was.

"_You were the one who gave me a new life…" She kept going, her legs slowly dissolving away into spume. "You saved me, despite me hating your guts, you saved me again, despite the dangers from my old hometown, you freed me and showed me a life that I didn't know I needed to have for the longest time…"_

Memories of old came back at Naofumi like a truck, the time he rescued her when she was beached, fighting her, showing her the outside world, their departure, rescuing her once more, winning the war, saving the world, letting her be the guardian until death do her part… She didn't deserve this fate, after everything that happened.

"_I wish you were here to see the children grow… They loved what you stood for, and your stories of your exploits too… We would have fished, laughed, cried, lived happily, have a family… But your wife would have killed me… But a woman like me can still dream…" Sadina chuckled to herself, unable to avoid her fate no longer. Her waist was now completely dissolved into spume, her arms unable to hold herself any longer, as the slave mark stopped, knowing that the slave is close to being no more. "My Lord… Naofumi…" She muttered, tears falling one last time. "I'll never forget the time… we spent…"_

Naofumi tried to hold onto Sadina's cheek, but it went right past her. Even now, he was crying at a dear friend's last words. "S-Sadina…" He sobbed out.

"_I… love… you…"_ _The woman muttered her last words, her arms finally letting go. She closed her eyes one last time, her soul going into the afterlife…_

Naofumi tried to reach her one last time…

**.o0o.**

…And only touched spume.

The man just laid there, on his knees. The illusion dispelled a few minutes ago from his normal-looking Legendary Shield, but to him, it felt like forever. Replaying what was on his mind over and over again, he had to accept the fact that Sadina is dead, and that she tried to save what was lost from Iwatani… but lost her life in the process. She never betrayed him at all, rather she upheld it to the bitter end.

How could he feel any better, now that he knew the truth?

Slowly standing up, he saw his party standing there inside the old cavern. Ake, Rino and Étoile saw the man in a new tragic light, wondering what was going in his mind, while Keel and Raphtalia were mourning Sadina once again. Naofumi trembled, his hands shaking a little, but from seeing the two crying demi-humans, the two _friends_ who grew up with her as a close guardian, he knew what needed to be done. Walking up to the two of them, he pulled them into a hug, and whispered two words:

"I'm sorry…"

The girls' eyes widened. It was the most sincerity Naofumi has ever shown to them. New fresh tears fell out of their eyes as they hugged back, unable to contain it any longer. The two knights and the mage smiled at the sight, with companions no longer being afraid of companions, and joined in the hug.

However, with old vices and frustrations emptied out of Naofumi's heart, new hatred and despair slowly filled it back up, as his focus was now against Melromarc and the Church of the Three Heroes once more.

* * *

**Been a while, eh? Heh, thankfully I was about to meet the weekly uploads, eh? Glad you're able to enjoy the chapter, if you have!**

**I probably should have said this earlier, BUT just to let you know, this story is mainly characters and story-driven. If you guys were expecting a lot of gaming mechanics, then lemme tell ya, I'm not good at that. It's unfortunate (considering we're in an Isekai genre), but that isn't why I love Rising of the Shield Hero. It's the characters. Naofumi is amazing, and Raphtalia is amazing too! Motoyasu is perfect as his opposite, and Malty is all the right kinds of villain that we love to hate. And for the record, this story is DEEP! Like, details kind of deep. I got the entire story planned, just not the finer details. Maybe in the future, we can discuss about what sort of other game mechanics we can add here. Just drop me a review or a PM!**

**Yes, many chapters will always begin with a flashback. It helps set the mood and adds more sides to the characters.**

**Yes, Keel developed a fear of water, but maybe that can change! More on that at the bottom.**

**Yes, I'm also adding a lot more to the story. Q'ten Lo people in the novels don't dissolve into spume (not that I know of), they don't take forever to travel from one place to another, and they certainly don't have a portal lurking in the depths of Sadina's pad. But they do in this story, mainly because nobody goes in depth in Q'ten Lo in both novels and fanfiction (except for one). So why not make my own universe about them?**

**Yes, that was a Spongebob reference in the first flashback. Be happy it was an ASSIGNMENT?!**

**No, the Legendary Shield normally doesn't transport people into the past. Now that the Shield of Despair has been revealed, and that Naofumi has had it for a LOOONG time, the skill has developed into something a little more... monstrous over the years. It's like a virus: let it fester for too long without a cure, and it will spread and coagulate without end, like leprosy. **

**Yes, Naofumi has lived for more than a century. He has indeed lived longer than millenia. Why? I'll let that fester in your minds.**

**Remember, the italics are flashback text, while the regular standard font is the present day text. I did think it was a galaxy-brain mindblown moment I had when making this. So I gotta ask: how was it? **

**Question time for you all! I was thinking about adding professions into the story, like crafters and gatherers. You think that's a good idea? And which party members do you think can be perfect for what jobs?**


	25. Chapter 25: Discoveries and Plans

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero.**

* * *

"No no wait sto-! Guaaaugh!"

The sound of a bandit getting punctured and stabbed in the gut perpetuated into the air, his body falling onto the ground. The lone spearman shook, unable to take his eyes away from the sight that beheld him: his weapon covered in newly fresh blood of a human.

Bodies of bandits were strewn all over the pathway, all of them bleeding, or unconscious. The fresh lifeblood flooded out of the corpses, the plants now drinking it all in, and Motoyasu has to look away.

"They're not there… they are _not_ there… Ignore them, Moto… Just… go search and loot… and then take the carriage..." He told himself, exasperated and stressed. The man couldn't believe he killed again; living breathing men, slaughtered by his own hands. Could he be any more vile, stupid and destructive than he was before?

**Because they got in our way!**

How could he be so careless?

**They are the careless ones, begging for a fight!**

Was he really so bloodthirsty? Was he really a monster?

**Their blood is what helps us liiiiive! For her! For her!**

"S-Shut uuuup!" Motoyasu yelled at himself, the voice within him continuously giving praises in his head. It was like this, during the travels across the southwest. Every so often, a small voice would creep up to his mind, reminding him of Rino, the Shield Hero, and how he has essentially stolen the little girl that he cherishes; the little girl that saved him from, to still his shock, someone who would have used, abused and eventually deep-six him. However, all he had to do was remind himself of the face she had when looking at him, which was pure utter terror, and it would force him back on track to better himself. He had to, for her sake. That is what love and caring is all about, right? He shouldn't be luuuusssting after...

His head hurt from overthinking it. The voice thankfully has gone silent, as the leaves rustled in the wind. Motoyasu was noticing less and less vegetation around these parts, like a dry mountainous area up ahead. Seeing a cave where the bandits were likely hoarding their stolen loot, he walked inside, seeing if he could find anything of use, or to return to any stolen caravan.

Seeing a few boxes and big bags at the end, the lonely man began to open a few them up, seeing what he can take, and looking through them, he saw lots of raw materials, weapons, foodstuff and refined materials, enough stock to match a merchant. Looking through, he noticed that these things can be stuff he could sell for money, however he had one more box to look at. But as he tried to open it, he noticed that the cover wasn't budging, and scanning the outside, he noticed a small lock on it. Knowing that he had to take as much as he could, he reared his Legendary Spear, and slammed the cover.

**CRACK!**

The lid opened up, his spear head inside the treasure box, revealing a plethora of accessories made from useless trinkets. However, as the man pulled out, he noticed something stuck on the blade.

"Huh?" It was a green filolial feather, caught on the blade. It seemed to be attached by a leather string. "Oh, it's just a feathe- Huh?!" It didn't help, noticing what the leather string was attached to: the red jewel on Motoyasu's Spear. The gem glowed white, absorbing the contents of the feather and red string inside itself. The shaft stayed in its white colour, but the spear was more wider, fanning out like a tactician's feather fan, while the butt of the spear had the shape of a metal feather jutting outward. The man could only sigh, seeing he just stolen someone's feather necklace or good luck charm.

_**Spear of the Mountain Filolial**_

**+50 Attack, +15 DEX and STR, -50 HP**

**10% Earth Resistance**

**PASSIVE: Filolial's Blessing (Filolial EXP and Growth Increased by 50%)**

"Oops… I guess I didn't need to do that. I don't even know if the merchant is even here…but at least everything else is alright." Motoyasu commented, hoping the merchant didn't hear any of that, if he was here at all. As he sifted through however, he began to notice other raw materials, specifically, some copper and iron ores. He was about to dismiss them and place them in his inventory… until he remembered something from Naofumi.

_"Tell me, you know about weapon absorption, right?"_

_"Y-Yeah, the HELP menu informed me and the other guys about it."_

_"Okay. What about titles? Or crafting?"_

_"Crafting? Titles? That… No… I haven't yet got any of that sort."_

_"Makes sense. Be honest about one thing, Motoyasu. Do you trust me?"_

_"Huh? _Of course I do!" Motoyasu parroted out to himself… just realizing that he just talked to himself. _'Oh goddammit, now I'm talking to myself… Hope nobody was listening in.'_ Motoyasu scratched his head, grimacing about it… until he noticed a notification pop up from his spear.

**Crafting**

**Using materials gathered or found from monster drops can be used to synthesize a variety of new items, from potions, equipment and trinkets! Use the jewel on the Legendary Spear as your table, and experiment on what you can find and what you can make!**

"Crafting…" Motoyasu muttered, looking at the plethora of ore and other raw materials. Seeing what he could make, he put the spear down, and glowing pods of light appeared in front of him, begging for items to be put inside. Trying it out, the man put in two copper ores and a tin ore inside the lights, watching carefully as it swirled round and round, fusing until an item popped out like toast from a toaster onto Motoyasu's hands.

**Bronze Ingot made!**

**Very Common Crafting Material, used for smithing new weapons or upgrading Basic Weapons.**

"Whoa…" The man's eyes sparkled with wonder, seeing the bronze ingot, the size of his arm, crafted in seconds in front of his hands. Seeing the boxes, loaded with tons of raw items and materials, cogs began to spin inside of his head, and consciously, he grabbed more materials, testing the waters on what he could make, ignoring everything that was happening around him.

**Refined Wind Crystal made!**

**Wind Crystal Necklace made!**

**Leather made!**

The man couldn't believe the possibilities. How come he hasn't been noticing this feature? Grabbing even more items from the boxes and bags, a smile began to creep up to his face.

**Copper Gorget (Good Quality) made!**

**Cape made!**

**High Potion of Healing (Great Quality) made!**

**Leather Bracelet (Good Quality) made!**

**Wind Emerald Ring (Excellent Quality) made!**

The man could not stop after his thirtieth craft, as he was finding all sorts of joy in seeing what he could craft with his Spear. From trinkets, potions, accessories, to even a few bombs and incendiaries, Motoyasu kept putting items inside, and they pop out onto his hands, sometimes popping one inside his Spear to see its form change.

_**Copper Spear**_

**+10 Attack, +2 STR**

_**Iron Spear**_

**+15 Attack, +4 STR, +2 DEX**

_**Apothecary's Spear**_

**+5 Attack, -20 STR and VIT, +10 INT and WIS**

**Alchemist Eyes (All Alchemy items have a much better chance to be Great and Excellent Quality)**

**PASSIVE: Potion Lore 3 (All Healing Items and Poison Flasks increase in potency by 45%)**

_**Green Crystal Spear**_

**+30 Attack, +5 STR, +20 DEX, -5 VIT and WIS**

**Wind Elemental (All Attacks you use are Wind based, and your Spear can blow breezes of air)**

**PASSIVE: Wind Boost 1 (All Wind Attacks are boosted by 15%)**

_**Bomb Spear**_** (NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)**

**+65 Attack, +15 STR and INT, -5 DEX, WIS and VIT**

**Fire Elemental (All Attacks you use are Fire based, and your Spear can light on fire)**

**PASSIVE: Fire Boost 1 (All Fire Attacks are boosted by 15%)**

**NEW SKILL: Explosive Spear: Attack with your Spear, and whatever connects will explode, dealing bonus fire damage, along with the Heat debuff, dealing fire damage per every action each enemy deals.**

_**Poison Spear**_** (NEW SKILL ACHIEVED)**

**+35 Attack, +10 STR, +28 INT, -10 WIS and VIT**

**Poison Touch (All Attacks you use are Poison based, and can now deal the Poison debuff on attack)**

**PASSIVE: Plant Ward 1 (All Plant Attacks deal 20% less damage)**

**PASSIVE: Poison Ward 1 (All Poison attacks and the debuff deals 20% less damage)**

The man widened his eyes, seeing the new skills and passives on his spears. He never really took it into account the spears he has gotten, as he only got around three of them, and they were the best spears in the shop. On the bright side, they did help him learn new attacks, but with the ease and joy of crafting, the weapon shop in Melromarc sounded more trifling than ever. However, seeing how the weapons can be made rather than just bought, he scanned them, trying to process all of it in one moment. The new skills and passives, which are now permanent to his arsenal no matter what spear he equipped, looked to be amazing… until he tightened his grip, fear getting right back at him.

'_Many of these are meant for killing…'_

And that was what made him realize: killing would make Rino afraid of him again. It would make that voice come back to haunt him. He would be bathing in the blood of his enemies… And it was something that even scared him, a Hero, into even doing his duty: killing the opposition. Sure he had no problem with killing monsters… but killing people, which will be inevitable to do, as his duty as a Hero of the Spear… it frightened him. _'What would she say if she saw me killing people… just like last time?'_ And ultimately, it brought back the underlying message Naofumi had been telling him this whole time.

_"You're assuming that this world is a game. But I assure you, this world is very real, as real as it can be. Just like your world, and just like mine. People can be born here, people can love and be loved here, people can die here."_

That was the truth he did not want to deal with. It was the same feeling of dread with death that he has read about: how real it felt. That feeling of guilt and shame that crawled when he first went into a battle-frenzied slaughter against those soldiers in Lute… it was a haunting feeling. Now, he wished that he would never experience that again, for as long as he lived, even if he had to run away from it all. Perhaps it was the shut-in inside of him that was screaming at him to avoid all of the dangers of this world, and it would be so easy… if he didn't have the Spear. Maybe he could start a farm somewhere, avoid all the waves altogether, ditch the Legendary Spear somewhere, find a nice quaint home, maybe with a few farm animals to keep him company… but deep within his heart, he knew that can't be the case, and he began to lose hope. However, it was then, that when he looked at his hands, a notification popped up, notifying him of a life-changing message.

**A new title has been earned!**

**[Apprentice of the Hand]**

_**I don't have to buy it… because I can make it!**_

**(All crafts become 50% more successful to be a Good or Great Quality item)**

**A new title has been earned!**

**[Disciple of the Hand]**

_**Crafting fills my life, and my drawers, and my closets, and everywhere else.**_

**(All crafts becoming 50% more successful to be a Good, Great, or Excellent Quality item)**

**A new title has been earned!**

**[Hoarder]**

_**I craft, therefore I hoard. Easy life!**_

**(All items found/procured/gathered have a 25% chance to be a Good Quality item)**

"Crafting!" The man exclaimed, a solution finally coming to him. The fighter's life was easily frightening for him to even handle. Perhaps if he lived his life as a crafter, perhaps Rino would look at him in a different light, maybe away from the bloodshed. He found a lot of joy within the art of crafting, making accessories, potions, etcetera, and… maybe he could help others fight for him in his stead. Avoid fighting altogether...

The man began to hoard and procure more of the merchant's items, and soon, he gathered up most of them in his seemingly endless pockets, purely for himself to make, sell and create. As he reached the last bag however, he felt something that was odd to him. It was like… a head was inside. Opening it up, he noticed what was inside.

It was a small malnourished girl, with white short hair, bound, gagged, blindfolded, and in rags. Blood seemed to stain her cheeks, like streams of tears. As Motoyasu lifted her, he realized that she was really light, like a doll. His heart poured out to the poor girl, as she looks like Raphtalia and Keel when he saw them in Melromarc as children…

"Huh?" The man then noticed dried blood from the top of her head. Seeing it scabbing within her hair, he then began to dig into her hair… and felt two little stumps. The girl seemed to react a little, flinching from what Motoyasu is assuming to be pain. When the girl opened her trembling dry mouth, the Spear wielder noticed blood marking her teeth, like she was beaten on the face … and no tongue. Why didn't she have a tongue? Was it cut off? His heart was telling him one thing that he didn't want to know… but he needed to be sure. Turning her around, the man widened his eyes at the sight: a stump of a thin white tail, as if it was cut off. There was no doubt about it. Motoyasu poured his heart at the sight.

This was a demi-human slave, with her eyes, ears, tail and tongue cut off.

**.o0o.**

"Ahhh, isn't life grand, ya old bag?" The prince of Faubley, Tact, sighed with happiness, as he lounged about in the study of his old uncle King Aultcray of Melromarc, who was in his study, writing something with his own golden roc quill feather. The old king in question only had his hand go down his face, trying to wipe the frustration off of his face with no avail. "Could I get one more, please?" His nephew asked sweetly, opening his mouth, as he was lying about on the King's own couch, enjoying the high life with a grape being fed to him by an enthusiastic, lovestruck Princess Malty.

"Right away, oh amaaaazing Prince Tact!" She cheerfully puts in a tart grape into his mouth, emphasizing the last three words in her reply, which seemed to get her excited for some reason. The man gingerly chewed, enjoying the burst of sweetness in his mouth. The King, sighing for what seemed to be the umpteenth time, finally had enough.

"I believe that's enough pandering, Malty." Aultcray broke the two's lovey dovey interaction with his gravelly voice. "Now, please leave us. I must speak with my nephew alo-."

"Whoa whoa whoa, your Annoyingness. No need to shove your loving daughter into the corner." Tact waved his hand in the air dismissively, stopping Aultcray's words. "How about we let her stay? For me, old man?"

"W-What? It doesn't concern her!" The old King rebuked immediately, his eye twitching at the nickname he gave him. "Why in God's name would you even-?!"

"Hey heyyy~! Take it easy!" The man coolly interrupted the man yet again, sitting up and looking at Aultcray. "Just askin'! I mean, why not include her, since she's gonna be the next heir, right?"

That got Malty's attention, and she turned to her father, with a bit of excitement in her body. "That's right! I should be included in these meetings with dear Prince Tact, Daddy, as that is my role as a princess and future queen of this country!" She stated, despite doing them for the completely wrong reasons, shown to the deadpanned Aultcray, as she fed another grape to the prince.

"It doesn't concern you, Malty. I only wish to ask my nephew if-."

"...if I know any more about the things I did with the High Priest, amirite?" The prince finished for the old King, who slammed his desk out of rage.

"CAN YOU PLEASE STOP INTERRUPTING ME?!" King Aultcray shouted at the man, who only rolled his eyes.

"I'm still right, am I not, your Obnoxiousness?" Tact remarked, before he and Malty looked at each other and laughed at the frustrated look of the King, who gave up trying to have a professional talk to the man.

"Ugh… yes. That's what I want to know." The King knew he wasn't going to change, so he may as well play at his level. "What did you mean by being the Pope's 'little secret helper in the shadows'?" The King asked, narrowing his eyes, but Tact only smirked.

"Well, that's exactly that. I was his little helper. Just, ya know, in the shadows. Set up a few crusades all in the name of God, kidnap, pillage, loot, all those holy thingamaboozles." He lazily replied. "From killing a lord to gathering a few slave children, all in His good name blah blah blah."

"Killing a lord…?" The King repeated, looking away from Tact for a second, the gears in his mind shifting. "Wait... which Lord are you talking about? The only Lords who have died this past month is Lord Augustus by the Shield Hero reportedly, and Lord Seaetto by the First Wave's boss..." Tact could only shrug and explain.

"Oh that Cerberus thing? We sort of ignored it and guided it away. Seaetto's head and the demi-human children came first, the Pope tried to indoctrinate, so I did what I had to do. I mean, he was a sympathizer for those demi-humans you hate, so off with his head, he demands! Tis what you wanted, riiiight?"

_**SNAP!**_

The snap of his quill was enough for both Tact and Malty to turn their heads towards the King, who stood up, pushing his chair back to face Tact. "You IDIOT! Why would you do such a thing?!" He roared at the man. "We lost a great man that day, along with a lot of manpower! What would possess you to-?!" The man was immediately stopped, as Tact pulled out his ornate axe out of thin air and aimed the blade at Aultcray's face, who immediately stopped in his tracks.

"I don't think you have a right to talk right now, your Rudeness." The man warned. "I'm telling you this information out of the goodness of my heart, and you choose to be like this?" The King bristled at the words, but was even more shocked at Malty hesitating to defend him, almost as if she was siding with Tact.

"..." Aultcray only remained silent, before he relented, his shoulders drooping a little and leaning on his chair. "Then, perhaps 'out of the goodness of my nephew's heart'," he began to ask, rolling his eyes from the prospect that Tact would actually speak 'out of the goodness of his heart', "what about the rebellion? Why did nearly half of my entire army of knights rebel against the kingdom and I?"

"Oh? That?" The handsome prince made his axe disappear, and could only shrug once more. "Well, you can blame your 'big cheese of a Pope. He was the one who wanted to test out the magicks, before it began, so we tried it." Tact then pointed to a specific accessory the King had, while Malty looked at her own. It looked to be a spell tag, a flimsy piece of paper with runes written in magical ink. "Thankfully, you two don't have to worry, as you become immune to curses and hypnosis spells with them."

"Ohhh! I was wondering about this charm! You're so thoughtful, Prince Tact!" Malty praised the man, hugging the man on the couch, with the prince responding with his hands creeping onto her legs. But before things could get any more steamier, the King cleared his throat.

"Please do not derail the conversation." Aultcray reminded them, feeling a headache creeping up, which made Tact roll his eyes. It didn't stop him from feeling Malty's bare legs, creeping up underneath her skirt.

"Alright alright. We tried to do it on one person, specifically the Vice-Captain." Tact relented, which made Aultcray nod. While the scarred knight was a fine vice-captain and a great voice for the people, the king was beginning to suspect treason, specifically at the tail end of the first Wave of Calamity. So perhaps the Pope has done it to create a false testimony and absolute loyalty to the Church of the Three Heroes. ""Your Vice-Captain was having traitorous thoughts, and 'was tainted by the Shield Devil', so the big cheese Pope thought that as a fitting punishment, he would be forced into servitude using the forbidden curse and hypnosis that your city was subjected into. However, it didn't work, and he escaped, probably to rally his troops and strike back, since he has become... aware."

"Aware, you say?" Aultcray muttered in his breath. "As in…?"

"He saw, felt and heard what exactly his Eminence ordered the Vice-Captain to do." Tact glowered, chewing on a grape as if he was slaughtering it. But as soon as the harsh frown came, it disappeared, he waved it off, swallowing the grape. "But hey, at least the wide-scale version worked, and now everybody is your loyal soldier, your Cluelessness. Aren't you excited?"

The King could only piece together what happened later on: the Vice-Captain getting his platoon and other rebels and traitors to the crown together, probably keeping the information to himself, and then attacking the Crown when he was occupied with the match with the Shield, mostly seeing him as a 'hero'... Aultcray shook his head, unable to see the Shield Hero as a hero. The man is a horrid monster through and through, for what he is, what he represents, and what he does.

"Anyway, I gotta jet. Got some dumb things the Pope wants me to do, then I'll catch some Z's. And you know the High Priest's short patience and temper; gotta say, he's a real short fuse for a High Priest." For once, the King agreed with his nephew, remember the episode the High Priest had, and how Tact defused it so quickly.

**.o0o.**

"_What is this?! WHAT IS IT HERESY THAT I SEE?!" The Pope screamed out, unable to really understand what was shown right in front of him. His usual calm demeanor turned into absolute outrage. The image of Naofumi, the Shield Hero, firing the holy __**Final Flash**__ from his palms, was giving the man in the robes a mental breakdown. Seeing the replay of frightening power demonstrated by the condemned man, Aultcray and Malty also felt fear from what they were seeing, but did not dare let out a single word. "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! IT MUST BE THE WORK OF HIS DEMONIC SHIELD AND THE FELL ENERGIES HE MUST HAVE INHERITED! HOW DOES HE HAVE SO MUCH POWER?!"_

"_I don't have the answer, your Eminence." Tact shrugged, a little concerned as well. While he knew that Naofumi has done 'something' to the shield, WHAT he has done to acquire such power… is up in the air. "And, for the record, I thought demons were afraid of light."_

"_I do not believe it! __**God**__ does __**not**__ believe nor tolerates such blasphemy in His eyes!" The Pope snapped at his 'tactician'. "That spell is the highest tiered holy magic spell only a few clergymen in history have ever achieved in their entire lives! And yet this Shield Demon decided to make a mockery of the Teachings!" The Pope spouted out, red in the face, before Tact bowed his head, keeping his smile up for appearances._

"_How sacrosanct, your Eminence." Tact attempted to reach and comfort the man with his words. "But let's not get too hasty."_

"_Not hasty?! NOT HASTY?!" The Pope shouted at Tact, barely holding his restraint back. "That Shield Demon can combat us at any moment! We must strike now!"_

"_Not a good idea. The Shield Demon was still able to fight, despite casting the spell." Tact only shook his head, then smiled, like a businessman, towards the Pope with a solution in mind. "Why not reconvene with God and your priests? Clear your mind, because I have a plan." The man began to whisper in his ear, as Aultcray and Malty tried to listen in. But their eyebrows raised as the Pope lost his anger, and regained his calm smile, knowing what he has heard will work.  
_

**.o0o.**

"Heh. Good times, eh? Anyway, catch ya later, ya Smelliness." The prince waved off the silent King Aultcray, and stood up to walk out.

"W-Wait up, Prince Tact!" Malty called out for him as she began to follow him like a lost puppy, however, the man suddenly stopped, before looking at his uncle.

"Hm? What is it?" He spoke out, looking at his nephew, wondering what sorts of last words he was going to put in… before he smiled.

"When the plan is executed, make sure you get ready to fight. Because it will involve you… and your 'Staff', alright?" Tact reminded, before he left, with Malty in tow, discreetly playing with the **Linkshell** in his hand. The King only sighed, looking at his left, where a display case was hidden nearby his closets. Within was a metal staff, made of carefully made bracing and jewels, along with a prominent ornament shaped like a wolf head, with a diamond affixed in its mouth. Giving a sigh at the sight, he looked in the ceiling, his fist gripping his kingly sleeve.

"Hmph… I rather not, but if I get to take my shot at _him_, then…"

**.o0o.**

The group walked outside of the revealed hole, as the night sky still blanketed the entirety of the world. While it was only half an hour since they entered, it felt like a good 12 hours of spending time inside Sadina's resting home. As soon as everybody trudged out, along with sealing the hole, everybody felt really tired, from what they had just witnessed.

"Ahh... I need to sleep... It's way past time when I should be sleeping..." Raphtalia yawned, rubbing her red eyes, after crying for what seemed to be a good ten minutes.

"You're right. We have to sleep. Early rise tomorrow, right?" Ake continued, walking ahead and yawning. Keel nodded, agreeing with her best friend and knightly companion, but added in her two cents.

"I rather get some food first, then I'll sleep." Keel suggested, then looked at Naofumi with a smile. "Hey Naofumi, make some of those delicious beef skewers! I haven't had any in a long time!"

"Isn't it a little late, Keel?" Étoile asked, but Keel shook her head.

"No way! Come and join us, big sis!" With Keel's determined words, the warrior cat girl smiled at the invitation.

"Alright alright, I'm coming, little sis." The two of them hit it off, giving each other head locks and giggling at their quick-forming sisterhood. The others watched on, seeing them getting together so easily made Raphtalia giggle.

"Isn't that sweet? I'm glad you're getting well together." The tanuki girl remarked with a small hiccup in her voice. While she was smiling at their friendship, it was obvious that she was feeling a tad bit left out. The pair stopped and turned, looking at Raphtalia with a smile, before Étoile pat her on the back.

"Then join us, sis! You don't have to be afraid!" Étoile encouraged, which made the girl stumble from the pat. The others, even Raphtalia, smiled at their bond.

"I wonder if that's what having a sibling is like..." Rino looked at the pair as well, curious and interested to join in. As soon as she said those words, Keel smiled evilly as she prepared her hands like a bear on its hind legs.

"Yes it is! Now c'meeere, lil' sis!" Keel growled playfully, as Rino squeaked as she began to run, but she was no match for the wolf girl catching her and hugging her 'prey'.

"EEeeeeeeeaugh!" The girl cutely moaned out, thankfully her bones aren't being crushed. Everybody else laughed at the sight, their spirits lifted after the dreary time they had when they were underground.

"You know what? Big brother is famished too." Ake joined in the fun, a big smile on his face. "I'll get the food ready then."

"Heh. No need."

Naofumi's voice caught everybody's attention, as he gave a small smile. "I'll prepare those skewers. Hang on tight then, girls and boy."

"E-Eh?" Ake croaked out, but Naofumi raised an eyebrow at their silent faces.

"What's with the look?" The Shield Hero asked, legitimately confused. "I can smile too, you know."

"O-Oh, it's just..." Rino muttered, looked away. "I haven't seen you smile before..."

"Ehh... he just hasn't smiled in a long time for us." Raphtalia smiled back, happy that she was seeing the smile yet again.

"Don't get used to it, all of you." The Shield Hero walked ahead, dropping the smile, gripping his own Shield. "Tonight, we can relax, but tomorrow is the day we begin to prepare."

"Prepare... for what?" Étoile asked, wondering why he has gotten serious... before she gasped. Naofumi, seeing she got the idea, nodded, before looking at his Shield, seeing a time limit pop up.

**45 days left.**

"Prepare for the wave." Naofumi answered, much like a drill sergeant. "Tomorrow, we will train. I will train you until your legs give out. I will instruct you on new moves. I will break you out of that shell into a new person. Next Wave of Calamity will be much more harder, so I can't afford to let you die on me. Got it?"

* * *

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****

* * *

**Whew. This one came out a little late, but it is important as well. Some people, if you piece together who that demi-human in the sack is, may be mad, but that's how the story goes. If you can piece it together, then I'm glad. If you can't, stay tuned for more!**

**Yes, the crafting seems to be a little too easy for Motoyasu to perform, but he's got the Legendary Spear, AKA the item that can make things a lot more easier to perform things, like absorb items and stuff. I do plan on giving him a different moveset, as he's not very memorable in terms of what he can do other than... Spear moves. He's gonna have some dragoon moves and phoenix-styled moves, so stay tuned for that!**

**Yes, Motoyasu is scared of fighting. Not just due to a fear of killing, for the haunting voice will come back and make him a crazed lunatic, but the fear of driving people away, specifically Rino. Crafting is his way of coping, plus his way of working for the world to rid the land of monsters.**

**Some may think that Tact's inclusion here is just being a dick, but I assure you, if you know who he is, he has a VERY LARGE role in the story. Ya just gotta wait for it. And if not, then ask yourself: Why is he, and Naofumi, call the King of Melromarc dumb names?**

**Alright! Leave a follow, favourite, and a review if you wish! I'll see you next time for the next chapter!**


	26. Chapter 26: Growing Closer

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero. OCs and game elements that I take from other franchises don't belong to me either.**

* * *

_How time has passed. I haven't had much time to write down my thoughts ever since the last entry exactly three weeks ago... It has been a long time since I did an entry, showering the pages with my thoughts... Where can I begin?  
_

_Well, other than being more-or-less a fugitive trying not to be captured by Siltvelt to be a breeding stallion, we were ... let's say, in a discovery trip as we trained for the upcoming Wave of Calamity a week from now. Things were looking up for us as we made ourselves known, as I began to discover more about myself, and my powers, and some passions that would give me an edge: crafting. Armours, accessories, materials, medicines, trinkets, etc. It felt like this was my destiny, to be crafting... to be helping. I still wish I would reach anything beyond an **Excellent** Quality, but maybe someday I'll reach it.  
_

_Those long days of helping others, especially my party and the people around me did wonders for my sanity and esteem. Kelga told me I was smiling more, and that made her more happier. I was laughing at Ghido's banter rather than backtalking him. Akoner and Kiara fit in seamlessly into the party, and were helpful to others. Such as dealing with monsters and fetching items to help the sick. Those days helping... it felt like the peak of being a hero..._

_Then... a letter came from Melromarc. Written by the Spear Hero. Requesting assistance._

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 9_

* * *

Two weeks flew by, like the pages of books flying in the wind, the days spent for Naofumi and his party, along with the migrated townspeople of Lute, were hardworking indeed, but also with a lot of bonding moments. As Naofumi sat on the log near the burning campfire, cooking the same skewers for what seemed to be the fifteenth time, recounting the days he spent training and traveling around the area, he noticed how the town was beginning to become more lively.

"Coming through! Gotta get these crops back and up to shape!"

"S'cuse me! Have you seen my ball anywhere?"

"Yeah! Right there! Hurry, before the other adults notice it landing on the farmlands!"

The townspeople, as a thanks to the Shield Savior, began to rebuild Iwatani from the ground up. The old corpses were moved into burial sites nearby the cliffside of the shelf, as the houses were cleaned. Items that can be salvaged were used to help rebuild, and trinkets that belonged to the dead were either saved or went with the gravestones, in memory of the lost. However, the town rebuilt and the lives that accompanied it were just as lively as Naofumi could even think of achieving. Children playing on the paths, the farmlands growing slowly to reveal its harvest of grains and wheat, the few animals domesticated and used for milk and wool, along with the people, doing what they can for the community. It was simply mesmerizing for Naofumi, as he wondered just how much was achieved, from a barren destroyed ruins of a town, to this. Thankfully, with his own funds, along with the remainder of the findings back in the desert he spent over a century in, such as golden roc feathers ancient golem blocks and other rare materials, he was able to sell many of them to a few passerby merchants. It generated more than enough funding for the town to create a stable economy, and to begin harvesting and rebuilding without much of a struggle.

Footsteps were rustling as Naofumi turned his head, noticing Raphtalia walking towards him, a few kids waving goodbye to her as they went along their day. Naofumi didn't say anything, but handed her a meat skewer for her to chow down on, and she happily obliged. "Master, how was the excursion?" She asked, and Naofumi looked back at the food, flipping the skewers, adding new raw ones to the fire rack.

"It went fine. The materials we got will be self-serving enough for all of us in the coming days, especially for you, Raphtalia." Naofumi replied with a small smile, pulling out a golden metal band with jade and ruby stones affixed to it. Raphtalia looked at it with a reddening face, gasping as her imagination began to go wild.

"M-M-M-Master?" She stuttered, unable to comprehend the suddenness of the situation. The band looked amazing, enough to shine bright like the amber sunset. The feeling of Naofumi grabbing her arm gently, and sliding it on made her smile big and wide, looking at handsome and proud face.

"Raphtalia…" His soft growling whisper sent shivers down the raccoon girl's spine as she edged closer to his face. Her soft tingling lips just wanting to find her mark, until they-...

"Hey! Raphtalia!"

"Huh?!" The girl snapped out of her reverie as her eyes focused back on a confused Naofumi, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the girls flushed face and puckering lips. The girl shook away from her daydream, looking at the new band that Naofumi put on her hand…

...but it wasn't a ring. It was a bracelet instead.

"Something wrong with the bracelet?" The man asked, noticing her blushing face, with the raccoon girl widening her eyes and waving her hands in front of her in denial.

"N-No! Nonononono! Nothing wrong, it's just I…uh… It looks great! I love it!" The girl hastily stammered, with Naofumi giving an incredulous stare.

_**Golden Ruby-Jade Bracelet (Divine Quality)**_

**+25 STR, DEX and INT, +150 HP, +100 MP**

**90% Wind and Fire Resistance**

**100% Burn and Windburn Resistance**

**300% Mana Regeneration**

"Uh huh. Sure. You're welcome." The man rolled his eyes, pulling out more kebabs and putting a giant pot of stew on the rack. He needed a lot of food, hopefully to satisfy his party's hunger. Feeding two demihumans and his newly hatched companion requires a feast in and of itself. Seeing the campfire dying a little, the man shoved a couple more fresh chunks of firewood inside the pile, and blasting more fire inside of it, causing the flare to nearly overflow onto the grass.

"Uhh…" The Shield Hero faltered a little overdoing the fire spell, but he was rescued by his raccoon girl, standing up and pulling out her new sword out of her scabbard and pointed it at the fire. A small ball of ice formed just at the tip of her sword, cooling the logs down, until it was a gentle inferno. She then pulled her weapon back, sheathed it, then took Naofumi's wooden stirring spoon.

"Allow me." Raphtalia allowed herself, and Naofumi nodded, seeing her give a good stir.

"Your stirring and focus has gotten better." Naofumi noted, not taking his eyes off of the stew, watching her stir constantly. "Compared to the days prior, you were a lot more flimsy back then. We lost some good food that first day." The small smirk on his face had Raphtalia roll her eyes, as she knew that he wasn't being too serious about the situation, recalling the time she and the others began their new training.

**.o0o.**

_13 days ago_

"_Put more force into it! Don't allow room for your opponent to counterattack!" The Shield Hero commanded his five party members as they coordinated their strikes on him, yet they can't seem to make him stumble. Weaving and blocking Keel's strikes and Ake's attempts to disrupt with his sword and shield, Naofumi kept his expression neutral, showing that the moves shown wasn't very interesting, nor able to keep up with him. Seeing that he dodged Keel's fist outstretched across his face, the man grabbed the arm, while keeping Ake's sword at bay with his __**Fencer Shield.**_

"_Gyugh!" The wolfgirl grunted, swinging her feet forward towards Naofumi's side, but the man took the blow with no damage, and grappled the girl's leg underneath his arm. Now the girl couldn't move. "I… I can't…!"_

"_Keel!" Ake cried out, before readying his shield into a full-on charge. However, Naofumi simply gave a spartan kick on the man's shield, blowing him backwards a fair distance, and landing on some foliage._

"_Grrrgh! Let goo!" The wolfgirl's frustrations began to kick in, as she continued to struggle harder, but the man's got her in a vicegrip. However, he turned to the sound of rustling trees, a shadow, sword drawn, diving down towards him._

"_Too slow!" Naofumi chastised in the combat and was about to move, but heard words coming from behind him._

"_**As the source of thy power, I command thee! Decipher the laws of nature on my enemy and lock thee in place! Zweite Speed Null!**__"_

_He felt his feet being entrapped by a black and orange well, much like a sinkhole. '__**Immobilize**__ status, eh?' He smirked at Rino's support, but it wasn't going to work. As the shadow revealed to be Raphtalia diving towards him, while giving her battlecry, the man simply grabbed Keel by the scruff of her neck and lifted her in the way of Raphtalia's sword swing, which made the raccoon woman hesitate. Missing on purpose, she went low to get another good strike, but was elbowed on the cheek, stunning her before grabbing the swordmaiden by the scruff as well._

"_Raphtalia! Keel!" Words from Étoile were heard, as Naofumi, freeing himself from the immobilizing spell, turned around, still gripping the two of them with both his hands. _

_"Gaahh!" Raphtalia tried to struggle out of his tight grip, but it only made things more complicated._

_"Low blow! You can't do that!" Keel snapped at her master, who rolled his eyes._

_"Anything can happen on the battlefield. No such thing as honour in war." Naofumi replied, keeping his eyes trained on ___Étoile. __"_Let's see how you fight when there are hostages on the line." Naofumi announced to her, but…_

"_**Onslaught!**__"_

… _he widened his eyes at the sight of her dashing to him in a blink of an eye, shoulder tackling him back. "Grrgh!" The man held fast, only recoiling slightly and being slid back a dozen feet, but that was enough for Raphtalia and Keel to break free from his grip and counterattack. The two of them exchanged blows towards Naofumi, but the man simply blocked the attacks, and knocked them away, until Étoile came into the fight, two handed battle axe in hand. _

"_Rrraaghh!" The cat girl roared out, swinging her axe with expert precision, but the swing speed was not very fast, enough for Naofumi, in his __**Assassin**__ job, to dodge her expertly, despite his tanking prowess. As a green-cloaked shadow, the man weaved around her expertly, but when he was going to strike Étoile, Raphtalia was there, battling and defending her new big sister from the strikes, while Keel began a series of fast and strong close combat strikes to further peel him away. _

"_We got your back, big sis!" Raphtalia encouraged Étoile with a smile, as Keel hopped back to the duo, ready to strike once again. Étoile smiled back, before quickly readying herself to launch herself back into the fight._

"_Now!" The three of them leapt with surprising speed towards Naofumi, but he smiled, before throwing a smoke bomb down onto the ground. Right as the three of them struck on where Naofumi was at, he was nowhere to be found, as the hairs on their backs stood up. "Tsk… Keep your guard up! He can be anywhere!" Immediately, Ake and Rino ran to the trio of demi-human women and formed a formation around the mage girl, knowing she is the most vulnerable to fast and quick strikes._

'_**Not bad on strategy. As expected from the candidate for Vice-Captain, but that won't save you.**__' Naofumi thought as he was hiding in the trees, transforming into __**Holy Knight**__, and readying his new moveset, pulling out his new stick, made of rosewood this time. His 'holy sword' glowing, he began to chant his incantations._

"_**To the current of life, we succumb. Its judgement swift and final. Its bite as cold as steel. Judgement Blade!" **_

_The group waited with bated breath on what their leader is going to do, until they heard the distinct sound of ice. "Look out!" Keel cried out, as the ground broke apart and ice blades began to shoot upwards, a line of them coming towards the group. Immediately, Keel, Rino and Raphtalia jumped to one side, while Ake and Étoile dodged to the other side._

"_Shit! He's cut us off!" The warrior catgirl cursed, before she noticed a glint within the foliage of trees. "Found you!" Immediately using __**Onslaught**__, she broke to a long dash towards what she thought was the man, but instead hit something wooden. "W-Wha…? A decoy?!" She saw the broken mess of a wooden doll with metal bracings instead of Naofumi, but her breath was caught as she heard another incantation._

"_**Winds that chill the bones, come out and let thy forgotten truths ring justly, and freeze my enemies into naught! Frost Breath!"**_

_A large gust of searing icy wind and freezing hail showered on Étoile, specifically her legs, freezing the limb into place. "Grrrr…! C-C-C-Cooold…!" The catgirl moaned out, barely able to move her arms, as the man swapped from __**Magus**__ to __**Holy Knight,**__ and raised his sword, with familiar purple lightning forming at the base._

"_**I call out to the skies and tremble…"**_

"_Étoile! __**Shield Lob!**__" Ake called out and ran to assist her, throwing his shield like a boomerang towards Naofumi, but the man caught the shield with little effort. Literally throwing it back at Ake's face, knocking him on his back, he kept chanting._

"_**...as the brilliance of a thousand bolts blinds mine enemies and tears their flesh asunder! Hallowed Bolt!"**__ Étoile could only block as the man slammed his 'sword' down onto the woman's axe. Sparks of purple and red flew as it felt like a chainsaw versus a bar of metal. The catgirl struggled hard against the blade of lightning, her legs and arms slowly giving out, as Naofumi pushed a little harder, keenly aware that Keel, Raphtalia and Rino just arrived on the scene._

"_Big sis!" Keel cried out frantically, running and jumping for a jump kick, but the Shield Hero, not able to do __**Shield Hero**__ abilities while in __**Holy Knight**__, simply ducked, letting her crash into some trees on the other side. "Agghh!" The girl cried in pain, before slowly getting up. Raphtalia began to charge in too, swinging her sword onto Naofumi, but the man simply grabbed her hilt, with her hands on it, and flung her aside effortlessly towards Keel._

"_What will you do now?" Naofumi asked the group in a taunting manner, as Étoile was at her last legs, before she would give out. However, she felt herself yanked out of the ice on the side to safety, courtesy of Rino and her __**Rescue**__ magic, which brings a party member towards her vicinity in the blink of an eye. Seeing the cat girl disappear, Naofumi blinked, before seeing her at Rino's side. "Hm. I've seen enough!" The man announced, his group stopping in their tracks, and walked towards their party leader, as he dispelled his __**Hallowed Bolt**__._

"_Well? How did we do?" Ake asked, hobbling with the other females, wondering what his leader was thinking, but the man only shook his head._

"_Not good." The man's sharp response deflated them._

"_Ehhhh?" Keel and Raphtalia moaned out, but Naofumi raised his hand, shushing them._

"_I will admit, your teamwork is great. However, individually, or when one person is captured, or even when the plans fall apart, your strengths and adaptability falls apart too." The man criticized, remembering when the team was divided several times, they began to attack him individually, and in a rather sloppy way. "In essence, most of you are relying too much on each other. If you get separated, what then?" Naofumi chastised, eyeing ___Étoile when he said those words_._

"_S-So… what do we do about it?" Keel asked, scratching her head. Naofumi helped his party up to their feet, healing any injuries they may have suffered._

"_I will train you. I will instruct you. I will build you up from the ground up individually, both metaphorically…!" The man firmly commanded and, right on cue, their weapons fell apart, with Raphtalia, Keel, Ake, Étoile and Rino all being shocked at the state of their disrepair. "...And physically. Stand by until further notice!" _

**.o0o.**

_Some time later..._

"_Not enough, Raphtalia! Fight! Show your resolve!"_

_The Shield commanded, seeing his raccoon slave girl give one more strike on his blocking body. Her new sword once again cracked heavily as her attack recoiled on the Shield, bouncing her onto the grass. The two of them have been training together ever since the morning's spar, with the orange hue of the sunset approaching._

"_Huff… huff… Master…" Raphtalia tried to say, the girl completely over-exhausted from the sword training she received, but her throat was too tired to reply. Her arms felt limp and her legs completely sweaty, as his training involved a lot of sword swinging and even some magic practice, along with a journey through a dungeon field of lots of monster spawns deep within the forests. "Are... Are we…?" Naofumi only shook his head, as he looked at her stats one last time._

**Raphtalia; Swordmaiden Lv. 39**

**[Slave Dependant] Damage dealt increased to 50% when in master's proximity.**

_**I like my slaves how I like my meals: refined and dependable!**_

**HP: 3200**

**MP: 2500**

**Attack: 295**

**Defense: 220**

**Speed: 280**

**STR: 110**

**VIT: 95  
**

**DEX: 97  
**

**INT: 85  
**

**WIS: 90  
**

**LUK: 54**

**EXP needed until next level: 39**

"_Almost. We're almost done. Now drink up." Naofumi closed his HUD and gently spoke to her, holding her head up and offering her his pouch of water. Having her drink it slowly gave her a small amount of energy back. Using his __**Taunt**__ to attract as many mobs as he could for Raphtalia to slay, the man has been giving her a lot more hard work to boost her levels quickly, along with his own, for hours straight. And he won't lie; Raphtalia has been getting really good results: practicing new and old __**Sword Skills**__ along with even some dark and light based support magic to further augment herself. 'She has really come to her own…' The man complimented in her mind, but Raphtalia could see that he was thinking about something._

"_W-were you thinking something about me, Master?" Raphtalia entreated with a nervous smile, almost as if she could read his mind. Naofumi only raised his eyebrows in surprise… before promptly dropping her head. "Ow!" _

"_Get up. You have one last thing to show me." Naofumi commanded, before revealing what was underneath his cloak. Raphtalia widened her eyes at the sight of a rare Golden Balloon gnawing the side of his abdomen, despite it feeling like the monster has been chewing on a bar of hard rock for ages with no progress. How did he get this rare monster? The wonders of continuous __**Taunt**__ing could drag any living being out of their hiding holes._

"_E-Eh? Still?" She began to whine out, but she straightened her back when she saw Naofumi's usual glare._

"_This is the last one. I promise. But you better end it with one strike." The man relented, pointing out her close-to-breaking sword. It was true: it will break once she attacks… but that was no reason to not try. The girl shakily readied her sword, as Naofumi pulled out the monster and held it in front of him. "Remember what you learned, and use it to your advantage." He advised, as the girl gave a deep calming breath, and focused the last of her energies into that one strike. She could feel his expectant gaze at him, but it wasn't like how it was back then in the slave ring… this was something she needs to do to validate who she becomes. To prove her strength to the one she admires, rather than survival._

"_**Reverse Blade!**__"_

_Her blade shined with the black and white power she had within her, along with piercing damage based on her missing HP and MP, and soon, the girl unleashed everything, slamming down onto the Golden Balloon, exploding with a grand explosion of gold and items._

**A new title has been earned!**

**[Golden Balloon Slayer]**

_**Boom! Goes the balloons!**_

**(40% more damage to all balloon enemies and wind elementals. 40% increased rarity from drops of all balloon and wind elementals.)**

_The girl shook in exhaustion before falling on her knees as the Balloon dropped a plethora of new items, like a shopping bag about to burst. Seeing the gold, many types of scraps, different kinds of items and even a monster core drop out, it was safe to assume that she followed through. Naofumi smiled at the progress, as he grabbed a few of the rare items, counting what he just acquired, before looking at his slave sword maiden._

_Raphtalia then looked up at Naofumi, his green eyes shone back at her, much like a trainer and his trainee. She still hasn't gotten an answer from him. "W-Well? How did I do?" Again, the man didn't answer, but he did look up at Raphtalia's eyes. She could see the want and need for an answer, so he did, by showing his right hand to her, revealing a huge cut from the top of his palm to his wrist. Blood soaked the leather on where the cut was._

"_Very good." The man answered with a proud yet expectant smile. The girl began to panic on seeing the cut, but then realized the smile on his face. _

"_I-I don't get it… I didn't mean to hurt you, M-Master Naofumi…" The girl whimpered, but Naofumi shook his head._

"_I'm not mad at all. In fact, I'm pretty impressed. This cut shows just how far you have come, and showing just how far you are willing to go." Naofumi explained. "You were willing to go as far as harming me, to finish a task, despite being overwhelmed. That takes resolve, something I need you to have."_

"_W-What do you mean?" Raphtalia asked, unsure. Naofumi sat down on the grass, looking at her as she did the same._

"_Do you know what I mean by resolve, Raphtalia?" Naofumi began, and seeing her shake her head, he began to explain. "It's a strong determination to do something, and to stand by it, no matter what. To strike when the iron is hot, to fight for what you believe in, no matter what. And to never let go of your beliefs, no matter what."_

"_A-And…?"_

"_Raphtalia…" Naofumi looked at her with a serious look on his face. "There will come a day when you will have to make very tough decisions on the fly, and you will need to be resolved to do them one day."_

"_B-But we'll have you, right?" Raphtalia pleaded, but Naofumi shook his head._

"_Sooner or later, like it or not, there will come a time when we will get separated. At that point, you need to know and make a decision." The man cryptically stated to her. "That's the unfortunate truth."_

_The young woman shook a little, her own spirit faltering that those words and the reality behind them. It wasn't fair, she would have said out loud, and would have probably made a large fuss about it. Naofumi, sensing what she was thinking, put a comforting hand on her shoulder._

"_That's not saying I'm leaving you." Naofumi reminded her. "Nor am I leaving the others. You're all… precious to me." The man faltered in his words, but they seemed to cheer Raphtalia up exponentially._

"_T-Thank you…" The raccoon girl blushed from the praise. Any saddening thoughts were replaced with happiness, as she smiled brightly. _

"_Besides, it's not every day that I get a cut like this. Last time I did get one was over a century ago." Naofumi diverted the conversation, showing the new cut like a badge of honour._

"_W-What?! Master Naofumi, that cut is nothing you should be proud of!" Raphtalia chastised, but the Shield Hero shrugged. When he chose the role of tank and nothing hurt him for a hundred years, pain is something he got used to and, admittedly, miss._

"_Well, would you forgive me if you got a new sword?" The man tried to 'plead with all his heart', seeing the raccoon girl try to turn away from the enticing offer._

"_Mmmmph! That's cheating!" The girl pouted, her hands shaking of wanting a new sword, seeing that her old one broke apart like glass. The man chuckled, before standing up._

"_Alright, then! No new sword for you!" Naofumi began to waltz away, waving goodbye with a simple backhanded wave, but a simple tug on his pants from Raphtalia was all the indication he needed._

"_F-Fine…" The girl relented, sighing at Naofumi's… oddly joking attitude, as she watched him use materials he gathered or looted from the Golden Balloon, along with some mystical materials she never saw before, to craft something spectacular. From the time she has known him, it was simply like a father figure looking out for his slaves, like children. However, slowly but surely, ever since the man's fight in Lute Village, where she felt the heart-wrenching feeling of despair, Naofumi began to act more… rude. More bitter in his demeanor. More affronted towards others. More resentful towards his party members. It wasn't a dramatic change at all, in fact, it's rather slow. She still remembered his words and unforgiving demeanor last night from the campfire, especially towards Keel._

_However, after seeing the truth about Sadina and her death, she could see her master trying to improve himself. Interacting more and more with his peers, even helping them train, made him smile more. Perhaps it was the ease of knowing what happened to Sadina, seeing as she was close to Naofumi to her dying breath, but the feeling of despair has been slowly whittling away. Now the man was beginning to smile and joke around a little, much like the stories of what she has been told about._

_**The Shield Hero**_

_**The Demi-Human's Champion**_

_**Protector of All Life**_

_**God of the Hand**_

_**A Friend to All**_

_Her thoughts were cut short as something cold plopped onto her lap. Seeing a new blue blade, the steel cold to the touch, the young woman was amazed by the sheen and light weight of the blade. It was like she was looking at a mirror. "Rewarding enough?" Naofumi commented. "An __**Icebrand**__, divine quality, for your hard work."_

_**Icebrand++ (Divine Quality) **_**(NEW SKILLS ACHIEVED)**

**+365 Attack, +150 Speed +200 STR, VIT, DEX, INT and WIS**

**25% Ice and Fire Resistance**

**50% chance to inflict Freeze and Cold**

**Ice Elemental (All Attacks you use are Ice based, your Sword can launch out Waves of Ice, and freeze any types of liquids easily)**

**Ice Eater (All Ice Damage received heal the wielder rather than damage you.)**

**PASSIVE: Ice Boost 16 (250% Increased Ice Damage)**

**PASSIVE: Freeze Immunity (Complete Immunity to Freeze and Cold debuffs)**

**NEW SKILL: Frost Wave: Swing your Sword to launch freezing ice shockwaves, dealing bonus ice damage, along with the Freeze debuff, slowing and maybe stopping their movements.**

**NEW SKILL: Icicle Prison: A spell that raises icicles from the ground, surrounding the target(s) in a gaol of ice pillars.**

**NEW SKILL: Radiant Moonstrike: Point your Sword upward to charge, then unleash a spinning ghostly moon-like disc of ice towards your enemies.**

**NEW SKILL: Hazy Mist: Command your Sword to unleash a large plethora of mist onto the battlefield.**

**NEW SKILL: High Runner: Sheathing your Sword will give you a buff to your movement speed, shorten cast time and quickens reaction time.**

"_E-Eh? D-D-D-D-Divine quality?!" The girl stuttered, seeing the sword in front of her look much more better than any artifact she has ever seen, until she remembered. 'The Shield Hero… was known as __**the God of the Hand**__, a famed craftsman for all, for he alone achieves __**Divine Quality**__ items and weapons. He really IS the Shield Hero from the past…' Raphtalia thought to herself in completely surprise._

"_Right. Test it out. Make sure you sheath it when you're done, or else it will just go haywire." The man reminded her. The young swordmaiden wanted to follow, but the prospect of trying out her new sword was exciting, and she swung the sword… only for the slash to emit a shockwave of ice._

"_Whoa…" Raphtalia was in awe from the attack, which made Naofumi smile a little._

"_Whoa indeed…" The man looked at her work. Usually it would take a while to be able to use those moves, but a simple altered step to make the sword more accessible to Raphtalia, while still maintaining the same __**Divine Quality**__, was easy enough. Now, it was a matter of training the others. Keel and Ake are in need of more training and weapons after all…_

**.o0o.**

"The stew is just about done. Dinner is just around the corner." Raphtalia announced to Naofumi, who nodded at the sight of the finishing stew.

"Right. Fit for one." The Shield Hero commented, which made Raphtalia raise an eyebrow at what he meant at that phrase… until they heard a tweet from behind them. All colour left Raphtalia's face as a giant feathery shadow hopped over the pair, landed with a thud on the other side of the campfire, and proceeded to gobble everything in the pot down.

"AAAIIIEEE! THE STEW!" Raphtalia screamed out, before spotting the culprit eating the stew. It was a giant white filolial queen, three to four times the size of a normal man. The girl was trying to bat the feathered beast away, as he was watching the bird greedily guzzle the soup down its gullet. Finally, it removed itself from the pot entirely, its messy face covered in gravy and veggies.

"Tsk… Filo, always a messy eater." The man rolled his eyes, before cleaning Filo's mouth, just like how she was born.

**.o0o.**

_12 days ago..._

_**CRCK! CRACK!**_

_The sounds of crackling from Naofumi's inventory made his group alert. The girl put down her sword while Naofumi pulled out the item he was caring for, for the past couple of days. The egg shook and wobbled, a few cracks appearing on the delicate sheen of the monster egg. Soon enough, it hatched open, revealing a cheerful pink little filolial chick._

"_Whoa!" Everybody was shocked as they saw the chick tweet about happily._

"_That was what's inside the egg?" Keel was shocked at what she saw._

"_A filolial… a pink one too." Étoile commented with wonder, with Ake nodding, his eyes fixed on the chick, who began to fly and hop onto Naofumi's head, nuzzling the hairs._

"_I was wondering what was inside… Good thing Keel didn't eat the egg." Ake smirked, the jab caused Keel to look at him incredulously._

"_Shut up!"_

"_Umm, Lord Naofumi… Does it think you're the mother?" Rino asked, seeing the chick cry out happily in the presence of the Shield Hero's hair, much akin to a bird's nest._

"_Heh…" The man chuckles at the feeling of the bird sitting on his head, petting the bird as it tweeted with infantile happiness and love. It brought back memories of his own filolial more than a century ago. 'I wonder how Fitoria is doing… and if she's still alive...'_

**.o0o.**

_The next day was a handful for the group. The filolial was an eating machine, as she ate through a lot of the soft, then harder foods that Naofumi and the others would make and eat. It was tough, but the remains of monsters being made into stew was easy enough to feed her. However, all that changed when the next day, Naofumi entered the filolial pen, with Filo, the size of a car tire, on his head. He doesn't know it, but his party was sneaking behind him, unaware, but curious about his purpose here._

_11 days ago..._

"_What is he doing here so early in the morning?" Étoile wondered, peeking through the windows._

"_I dunno… but whatever he is doing, I'm probably not going to like it…" Raphtalia replied, a little bitter about having a bird take up nearly all the attention of their master, including his affection. She would've sicced her new __**Icebrand**__ if she knew how to control it._

"_I agree… Let's just barge in there…!" Keel began, also jealous about the bird taking away Naofumi's attention away from her, revving her fist. She was going to use her new gauntlets to break the frame, but Ake stopped them._

"_H-Hey… Don't you think we should just let them be?" Ake tried to reason with them, but was silenced at the sight of three pairs of angry, glowing, female eyes, silently telling him to shut up. Remarkably, he just sighed and let them be, before Rino climbed onto his shoulders._

"_I wanna see…!" She whispered to him, curious as well, and Ake sighed again, before keeping his eyes transfixed at the sight of filolials._

_Inside, Naofumi noticed his party's mumblings outside, but it was too late to stop. He had to do this, for the sake of his filolial getting the best growth points. Walking towards the pens, he saw filolials of differing colours, all of them domesticated and belonging to the former townspeople of Lute, and they all looked at him curiously, wondering who he was, and why does he smell so familiar to their kind._

"_Phii!" Filo cried out in excitement, running about left and right, which made the other filolials cheer as well. "Phii! Phiiii!" They whistled and sang out, much like cheering. Naofumi smiled, before he took a deep breath and did something that would make his party question his sanity._

"_Phii! Phiii?"_

_That wasn't the filolials who let out those cries. It was Naofumi, mimicking their speech patterns. Immediately, his party raised their eyebrows from hearing exactly what he was saying. "Was Master… trying to make filolial noises?" Keel asked, utterly confused._

_The filolials nodded, tilting their heads at him and Filo. "Phii? Phiii phii phiii?" The filolials seem to ask, according to their tone of voice, in which Naofumi responded with both a nod and a 'Phii.'_

_What happened next was completely bizarre. The ostrich-sized birds began to dance around Naofumi and Filo, kicking their legs up into the air, shaking their tails, spinning their necks and flapping their wings in a set motion that looked oddly beautiful… for filolial standards. The party was completely silent as the birds dance… and things couldn't be any more ridiculous when Naofumi, with a straight face, began to join in the dance. Seeing him do jumps, pretending to flap his wings and even doing ridiculous ballerina twirls on his toes. What seemed like waltz-like music played in the background, almost like a mating dance, with harps and flutes playing in tandem as they danced._

_And finally, it ended, as the filolials cheered, tweeting and chirping with glee, releasing feathers from their excited bodies. Filo seemed happy at the sight, witnessing the dance of her people. Naofumi didn't say a word, but he grabbed the feathers and gave them to his shield unlocking new perks onto them. Raphtalia, Ake, Keel, and Rino watched, feeling completely enthralled by the performance, trying to hold back the urge to clap. However, the sound of snickering and barely-contained laughter was heard in the group._

_It was Étoile, rolling on the floor, dying from laughter. "PFFFHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAHA!" The girl howled out from the humour of the situation. Seeing the legendary Shield Hero she has heard legends about, with a straight face, dancing like a ballerina to wild filolials looked completely ridiculous. She would never really laugh unless it was during battle, but this was the first time she would ever watch an experience like this, and boy was it funny._

_The rest of the gang lost all of their colour on their faces as Étoile was laughing, seeing that she inadvertently blew their cover. "Étoile, be quiet…!" Ake tried to shush her, but she wasn't able to stop laughing at the imagery she couldn't unsee._

"_Big sis, huuuush…!" Keel tried to hush the catgirl, but even that was unsuccessful. Étoile just kept laughing._

"_**Seven shadows cast, seven fates foretold."**_

_The party suddenly froze, the cold voice of Naofumi sending shivers down their spine, and making their hairs at the back of their heads stand up._

"_**But at the end of the broken path…"**_

_They party looked up, seeing a glaring Naofumi, raising his stick in the air. In his __**Holy Knight**__ stance, red-coloured energies surrounded the man, ready to be unleashed._

"_**...lies death and death alone! Northswain's Strike!"**_

"_RUN!" The party screamed out and began to scatter, as the man swung his sword down. From what the townspeople, busy with their own repairs and farming, witnessed, all they could see were a pillar of crimson swords and Naofumi's party flying in the air._

**.o0o.**

The new filolial shields did their trick, as they boosted Filo's growth rates exponentially, from shooting from a regular ostrich-sized filo on the third day, to a strong proud filolial queen on the sixth day. He remembered that getting the feathers back then required either ripping them out manually, which would involve the filolials to be angry at him, along with permanent notoriety towards all filolials, which was something he didn't want, or knowing their mating dance, which was his only other option. The man saw the bird rest herself on the ground, her feet resting nearby the fire. "Right. If Filo is here, that means the others are here too." Naofumi remembered he sent Filo on her own little trip with some of the other townsfolk, along with Ake and Étoile, to another port-sized town, trying to sell some merchandise for profit and supplies for the town.

"Phii!" The giant chicken bird gave a satisfied chirp, with Naofumi nodding.

"Right. Now- YEOW!" The man screamed out, as an irate Raphtalia used her new **Icebrand** and jabbed it right on the man's buttocks, making him screech from the sharp cold pain. "Ow! What the…?! Raphtalia?" Naofumi looked at her with a shocked and confused face, until he saw her sword pointing at him.

"Master Naofumi! Make Filo behave next time! The stew was meant for us!" Raphtalia chastised him, like a mother scolding her teenage son, with Naofumi simply rolling his eyes in response.

"I'm sorry. We got another pot of stew going, so it's going to be alright."

"You said that last time, and she ate through both of them."

"Again, my mistake."

"Well, for that, no stew for you!"

"What?! I made the stew! What did I do to deserve that?!"

"Hmph! If I told you, you wouldn't learn!"

"Look, lemme just stir the pot. I'll get your serving in no time."

"It's not about that!"

"Then what is it about?"

The two of them argued continuously, not in a malicious way, but more like a disgruntled married couple. Filo tilted her head at the bickering duo, as the new pairs of eyes who ran towards them frantically, stopped and noticed their back-and-forth.

"Uhhh, you two…? Hello?!" The voice interrupted Naofumi and Raphtalia, who simply turned their eyes towards the source, who turns out to be a disgruntled Rino. Ake, Keel and Étoile were also looking at the pair with a raised eyebrow, but Naofumi and Raphtalia noticed that they were out of breath.

"What happened?" Their party leader asked, wondering what they came across during their mission as merchants. Rino then brought her hand out, revealing what was the source of their panic: a lone arrow.

"An arrow? Who does it belong to?" Raphtalia blurted out, noting how ornate it looked… until they noticed Naofumi's face scrunching with anger.

"You know who it belongs to?" Rino asked, surprised on seeing Naofumi's face turn so dark and angry, until she heard the wind whistle and shift. The man moved quick, as he raised his shield behind Rino's head, as an arrow from the sky zoomed towards her, but harmlessly bouncing off the shield. Everybody else widened their eyes from what occurred.

"What the-?! Who's attacking?!" Étoile sputtered, as she looked behind her, where the arrow came from. Naofumi only had three words.

"The Bow Hero."

* * *

****THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!****

* * *

**FINALLY, the plot advances! At least, in terms of time. I wanted to make a timeskip chapter at some point, since the wave is going to take a long time to get to (in terms of this universe). So I had to get through at least 14 days worth of the time. Also, this one took a while, since I got a small concussion during the week.  
**

**Yes, bird loli Filo is here! I know that people wanted to have more Filo screen time, or more of a formal introduction to her in the world of The Original, but unfortunately, that's how the cookie crumbles. **

**Yes, the other party members will get their screentime too. It was just Raphtalia at the start, because she is best raccoon gril. Who knows? She may even get together with Naofumi in the end. If you guys ask hard enough, that is ;)**

**Yes, the stats are appearing more often now. The Passive Abilities are what I'm going to have the other characters freshen up, especially Motoyasu, since he's a more involved character now. Raphtalia's is also going to be more involved too, since she never got any more interesting in terms of combat (she got waaay more moves in the later half of the novel, so I'm bringing a few of them here right now). And ice is a good element for her to use for her sword. She will still use light and dark magic, don't you worry. I'm also doing the stats and passives more often because it brings the video game experience out more.  
**

**Yes, the Filolial dance is there for laughs, and a reference to Final Fantasy 7. Who could ever forget about the chocobo mating dance for a summon materia?**

**HERE'S A QUESTION FOR YOU ALL! Filo has finally joined the party, which means another job can be picked! What RPG job do you guys want?**


	27. Chapter 27: Cracks in the Seams

******THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!******

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero**

* * *

"_Is that where he is?"_

"_P-Put me down!"_

"_I will if you don't tell me that's where he is. Got it?"_

_Naofumi snarled at the guard, who was losing his bowels after the terrifying snarl. Within, hundreds of other guards were trembling at the sight of the Legendary Shield Hero, grabbing one of the guards and eyeing him with one of his terrifying glares and snarls of anger._

"_H-He's in the colosseum! Waiting for you!' The guard whimpered out, which made the other guards angry that he released that information to the enemy. Naofumi didn't care, and let the soldier go, and began to walk towards the colosseum. His mind brewing in the darkest thoughts imaginable, knowing he's going to inflict them hard on one of his mortal enemies. Emerging into the colosseum, remembering the time he witnessed a fight between mercenaries and soldiers here, he saw it mostly empty, save for the crowd. However, instead of cheering or jeering like any normal human being, they were all silent, much akin to robotic drones._

_The man walked towards the center, before hearing the gate behind him close, along with all the other gates opening, with masses of soldiers charging in, their swords drawn out. "FOR THE BOW HERO!" They shouted mindlessly, not knowing that it was leading them to their doom. The Shield Hero sighed, readying a **Diamond **__**Spike Shield**__, awaiting the onslaught._

"_**Riposte Thorns.**__" The man simply commanded, with an orange aura and ethereal vines surrounding himself, thorns as long as butterknives sticking outward. The soldiers all ran towards the man, intent on cutting his head. Instead, as soon as their blades touched Naofumi's neck, their own heads were chopped off instead of Naofumi. The blows intent to be aimed at the Shield Hero, were instead landed back on the soldiers, unable to even damage the man at all. However, the soldiers just continue to mindlessly attack the Shield Hero, none of them stopping, even when at least a couple hundred bodies of headless corpses were on the ground. Shaking his head, Naofumi had enough, and brought in his hands and unleashing them outward. "__**REPEL!**__" The powerful shockwave blew the corpses and the soldiers away, slamming the walls of the arena, many of them not getting back up._

"_Hmph! What a show you provide us with, Shield Devil!" A condescending voice echoed in the top of the colosseum's entrance. The silent crowd oddly began to stand up, almost in a ritual sense. Naofumi looked up, prepping for the fight ahead, and saw a man with long hair tied into a ponytail, seeming dyed different colours of black and white, covering his wheat blonde hair. The young man was adorned in a battlerobe with black armguards and white Edo-styled body armour, covering his lower half completely. Metallic wings, coloured gold and black, much like a split between an angel and a fallen angel, adorned his back, while a laurel wreath shaped in gold was on his head, reflecting a tyrannical emperor of Rome. The man had a devilish smirk on his face, giving off as much pride as he is showing, if his sharp yellow eyes were not indicative enough. "However, your deeds do not make you a saint, at least, according to the eyes of justice."_

"_Where are they?" Naofumi demanded, having no time in the matter to even deal with someone as obnoxious as the Bow Hero, but the self-absorbed man simply shrugged._

"_Whomever do you mean, Shield Devil?" The Bow Hero coyly asked, making Naofumi snarl at his tone._

"_Don't you dare fuck with me, Hokotora Yoichi!" Naofumi yelled at the prideful man, addressing the Bow Hero at his full name. That is, until he spots the gates around the faux emperor of Zeltoble opening up, revealing what seems to be a brass bull, the size of a house. Within, he saw smoke coming out of its two nostrils, and from within, there were screams and cries for help._

"_HELP US, NAOFUMI!" The screams were faint, but he recognized them in an instant. It was his party!_

"_Kiara! Kelga! Ghido! Akoner!" Naofumi called out their names, assuming they could hear him. The Shield Hero tried to make a run for them, but the bull began to get hotter with each step._

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you, Shield Devil." Yoichi hollered in his laughter. "Each step you take will make your worthless friends burn faster within my __**Bull of Phalaris**__!" The audience seemed to laugh with their emperor, seeming to take in the angry look on Naofumi's face._

"_Coward…! You know this is wrong! What happened to your so-called honour or justice? Or were you full of shit the entire time?" Naofumi shouted at Yoichi._

"_Hmph you fool! I AM justice! I AM the Way! Nobody shall stand against me!"_

"_You think you can get away with this?! You'll regret ever making an enemy against me!" Naofumi roared at the emperor, who stood up and took in the rage-filled face the Shield Hero had to the fullest._

"_You fool! You think I care? No, I'm your judge and emperor now! And that means that my means and methods I use are absolute in the eyes of justice!" Yoichi responded, with the arrogance finally making Naofumi break in rage._

"_DON'T YOU START SPEWING THE WORD 'JUSTICE'!" The man screamed, the earth rumbling underneath, as if the land itself was buckling from the sheer hatred and madness radiating from him. For once, Yoichi and the other soldiers lost the smile and was actually intimidated, but began to widen his eyes at the sight of his shield glowing a menacing red, a black and red flaming shield transforming his own __**Spike Shield**__, with flames gathering at the green jewel._

"_W-What the-?!" The faux emperor stepped back from the sight, as the flames on the shield began to charge into a literal supernova, before Naofumi muttered his incantation._

"_**Let your sinful hearts wail in your own desecration, and dissolve into a conflagration of unbounding chaos! The gates of hell welcome you into unending pain! Megiddo Meltdown!"**_

_Right before everybody's eyes, a giant cannon of white hot flame blasted from the Legendary Shield to the brass bull, blasting a giant hole and disintegrating the head completely. The flames colliding with the bull exploded, spread miniature fireballs, shaped like screaming revenants, all over the arena. They flew wildly onto the screaming public and soldiers, who screamed from the scorching and melting agony, without remorse and mercy. From the immolating brass bull, a turtle sage and a white tiger demi-human jumped out, carrying two unconscious demi-humans, a pheasant and a dog girl, out of the bull._

"_Naofumi!" Ghido, the turtle sage, called out in a panic, before said hero turned to eye the genmu and nodding, signalling that the Shield Hero was buying time for them to escape. Knowing that in this state, where Naofumi's __**Curse Series: Wrath**__ was being used to its fullest, Ghido knew he had to turn tail and flee, along with Kiara, Kelga and Akoner, following him._

"_No… this is preposterous! Y-You! You're the villain!" Yoichi stammered in fear, trying to hold his facade as best as he can, and failing hard. "Villains always fall to the heroes! This cannot be-!" The man did not have time to even continue, as Naofumi aimed his shield at Yoichi._

"_**Jaws of Immolation!"**__ The man commanded, his shield launching out what seemed to be a flaming bear trap on a burning chain, latching onto Yoichi's armour. The man gasped at the sheer heat he was feeling from that trap, but felt himself yanked upward and slammed down onto the burning ground. _

"_Gaaaugh!" The man cried out in pain, as the screams of torture from his loyal subjects filled his ears. But it was largely ignored, as a welling feeling of vengeance began to surface. Getting up quickly, the man only saw one thing in front of him, and that was the man who ruined his kingdom in one single night. Killing him was the only thing on his mind._

"_**GrrrrrrRRRR!**__" The Bow Hero snarled, before light and darkness encircled around him, making his armour shine like a vengeful angel ready to deliver justice. __**"Curse you, Shield Demon! I will end you! Your judgement shall be handed down!"**__ The prideful man roared, his __**Curse Series: Pride**__ has taken effect as he drew his Legendary Bow and readied his arrows._

_However, Naofumi wasn't listening, as his own outcry was even louder, much like a berserker, as white hot flames surrounded the both of them. Power veined in his skin, traveling all throughout his body, as his own set of traveling gear transformed into an all-consuming black set of armour, the flames wreathing around the man much like a cloak of fire in the shape of a roaring monstrosity. And then both of them attacked._

**.o0o.**

"EVERYBODY! EVACUATE TO THE SOUTH! NOW!" Naofumi roared out, the citizens and rebels immediately looking at their hero with shock and dread, knowing that those words can only mean one thing.

"There it is! Everybody, prepare to attack!" The platoon of church knights in the distance gave their signal and battlecries, charging towards the rebuilt village. The citizens feared for their lives as they began to run, scattering towards the far South exit of Iwatani as the soldiers appeared from the West exit. Naofumi's party looked around frantically, spotting the large platoon charging towards the gates, and quickly readied for battle. Naofumi, on the other hand, was quick on his commands.

"Two of us, along with the other rebels, stays with the citizens, the rest goes to fight!" Naofumi commanded, pointing at Ake and Étoile, both of them looking incredibly surprised.

"W-What?! But isn't it more beneficial if I-?!" The cat woman began, but Naofumi looked at her with a stern glance.

"No. You both need to help the citizenry. Now go!" Their leader commanded, before he, along with Raphtalia, Keel, Filo and Rino ran off towards the gate. The cat woman seemed to be speechless and unable to take in those orders, but Ake shook her shoulder.

"Cmon, Étoile! Remember what Naofumi said to you?" Ake tried to shake her out of her trance, reminding her about what Naofumi told her days ago. Étoile widened her eyes, before turning around, and sprinted towards the forest, with Ake on her trail, as the voice of Naofumi reminded her of what was most important in battle.

**.o0o.**

_9 days ago_

"_Wait, what do you mean 'I'm too trigger-happy'?!"_

_The voice of an irritated Étoile echoed within the southern weald of Iwatani, as Naofumi was kneeling down, working on his crafted items for Ake, who was standing on the side, scouting about._

"_Exactly what I mean. You don't know what it means?" Naofumi rebuked, looking at her with an exasperated eye. "You're too impatient in battle. You go for quick kills, and sure that's fine, but last time, you left yourself and your team open."_

"_What?" The catgirl seemed to be more confused at what he was saying. "But I thought you said that we relied too much on each other."_

"_That was for them. For you, however, it's a different story." Naofumi noted. "Remember when you charged at my decoy? That's when everything fell apart for you. You left Ake to fumble about, and your mind wasn't even dead set on regrouping with the other three girls during that fight. That's why you lost: because you forgot to keep an eye out for your party members." That only made her widen her eyes, and growl back at Naofumi._

"_T-That's not… That was only one time!" Étoile retorted, huffing and turning away._

"_That one time can cost you a battle, or cost you their lives." Naofumi harshly criticized. "If you aren't going to learn to protect others rather than fight for your own glory, then you might as well leave." That hit a sore spot in Étoile, prompting her to stay silent, to think about what she has to learn. Naofumi only sighed, but looked at Ake, beginning to open his mouth._

"_Why didn't you tell Étoile this before, Naofumi?" The knight asked, with Naofumi stopping his craft and standing up, looking at his male party member in the eye._

"_Would it really be beneficiary to give her my feedback with everybody else?" Naofumi asked back, with Ake actually feeling surprised from the question. Would it really be helpful, if everybody else knew?_

"_No?" He meekly answered, and the Shield Hero nodded._

"_You're right, it wouldn't help. I distinctly remember that Étoile was in a league of her own in the Knight Academy, correct?" Naofumi inquired, in which Ake responded with a yes. Étoile turned her head, listening in as her party leader continued. "That would mean that she was isolated from most of her peers, correct?"_

"_O-Oh yeah… I was." Étoile joined into the conversation in a despondent, as Naofumi looked at her in the eye._

"_Wasn't a good feeling, was it?" The man guessed, with Étoile looking away as his assumptions being correct. "Hm. Understandable. With the stigma against demi-humans and her prodigious talent, she probably only had herself to worry about, except for you, Ake. Least you have a friend who can help you, right?" That got the cat girl to look at Ake, who blushed at the attention, but he turned to Naofumi._

"_W-Wait…" Ake muttered, as if he understood what his leader meant to do. "You saved the feedback for now… just so she wouldn't feel isolated, right?"_

"_Got it in one, Ake." Naofumi nodded, with Étoile widening her eyes. Naofumi withheld his feedback… just so she wouldn't be isolated in her party? Suddenly, rustling was heard from the grass, as the trio turned their eyes. "There!"_

_From within, a Platinum Toad hopped out, unaware of the trio's eyes, croaking as it stood still. Naofumi was ready to catch it, as he whispered to the two of them. "Alright, you two. Let's-..."_

"_I got it!" Étoile called out, and pulled out her axe, startling Naofumi._

"_No, don't-!" The man tried to stop her, but the girl was already on the charge._

"_**Onslaught!**__" The catgirl recklessly charged in, making the Platinum Toad turn to her. However, within the foliage, a conveniently placed bear trap was located just a few paces away, and Étoile was unfortunately caught on the trap, her leg clamped by the sharp jaws of the steel trap. "GAAAAH!" She cried out in pain, immobilizing her as her leg bled. The Toad turned tail and hopped away, but that was the pair's least of their concerns._

"_ÉTOILE!" Ake called out in worry, as he and Naofumi ran to her struggling from the trap._

"_Damnit… What did I tell you about jumping in head first?!" Naofumi scolded her as Ake successfully got her leg out of the trap. The man swapped to __**Cleric**__ to heal her wound, shaking his head in frustration, seeing as this was going to be a work-in-progress. "If it was a real battle, you or your comrades would have died for nothing._

"_S-Sorry…" The catgirl muttered, now seeing what was wrong._

"_Ugh… we'll get that toad next time." Naofumi grumbled, before turning around towards the exit, beckoning the other two to come with. "We're leaving."_

**.o0o.**

On the grasslands, soldiers of the church charged towards the five of them, recognizing them as the 'Shield Demon's slaves'. Swords drawn, with mages at the backline ready to fire and cast their numerous spells, they attacked… and promptly fell against the attacks of the overpowered group ladies and their Shield Hero. Raphtalia laid waste to them, her **Icebrand **slashing at the enemy and freezing them within their armour, while firing ice waves towards her targets that were far away.

"Hyaaaaah!" The girl gave her own battlecry as she was slicing through exposed areas of the knights, such as the neck and jugular. Many of them couldn't even come close to her, due to the way she fired her waves of ice, along with her new sword skills. With Naofumi's practice, she wasn't breaking a sweat, compared to the other fights, where stamina isn't her strong suit. But now? Raphtalia felt like she was able to keep up the fight for the long run, as she felt more reinvigorated than ever. Soon, twelve bodies have fallen around Raphtalia, but one knight snuck up behind her, ready to strike and behead her.

"Head's up, Raphie!" Keel called out, zooming for a jump kick towards a white-cloaked shadow in the skull, who was attempting to dive her with knives. The body flew into the crowd of knights, as Keel landed gracefully, smiling at Raphtalia. "I got your back!" The wolfgirl told the raccoon girl with a big smile, before her new gauntlets crackled with electricity.

"Don't just stand there! **Attack**!" One of the leading knights cried out, as everybody roared, glowing golden once more, charged towards the two of them in a phalanx. Keel frowned, and then began to focus, channeling her energy towards her arms, enough to make her hairs on the back of her neck stand.

"**Dragon Thunderclap!**" Lightning crackled around her fists, before she made a huge clap with her hands, sending tendrils of electricity towards the knights. The thunder went right through the armour, channeling into the church knights' bodies.

"**Grrrraaaaaagggguggugug**uugghhh…!" The knights only gurgled in pain, their screams only distorting from their shaking bodies.

Then, they barely saw the shadow of Keel jumping into the air, her fists ready to clock them out. "**Power Dunk!**" She slammed them down hard with her electrified hands, creating an electrified crater and blowing all the knights in the area onto the ground. Some of them dead, others barely alive, but all of them had their golden glow disappear. Keel then calmed down, rubbing off the electricity off of her gauntlets, taking a deep breath, before refocusing back to the fight.

"Thanks, Keel." Raphtalia expressed her gratitude with a smile, as Keel gave a big smile, and a thumbs up.

"Thank Master Naofumi! You know it was because he made these for me!" Keel flexed her weapons, being a little modest about her own skills. But she can't help but admire the gauntlets Naofumi made just for her.

_**Greased Lightning++ (Divine Quality) **_**(NEW SKILLS ACHIEVED)**

**+300 Attack, +250 Speed, +200 STR, VIT, DEX, INT and WIS**

**25% Lightning and Water Resistance**

**50% chance to inflict Shock  
**

****50% chance to inflict Sapped  
****

**Lightning Elemental (All Attacks you use are Lightning based, your Fists generate electricity, and can speed you up)**

**Lightning Eater (All Lightning Damage received heal the wielder rather than damage you.)**

******Passive: Battery Charge (Lightning Damage will increase your speed and attack)******

**PASSIVE: Thunder Boost 16 (250% Increased Lightning Damage)**

**PASSIVE: Shock Immunity (Complete Immunity to Shock debuffs)**

****PASSIVE: Sapped Immunity (Complete Immunity to Sapped debuffs)****

**NEW SKILL: Dragon Thunderclap: Clap your gauntlets and generate a dragon-shaped tendrils, dealing bonus lightning damage to all enemies in a cone, along with the Shock debuff, which increases the enemy's damage taken by 25%.  
**

**NEW SKILL: Power Dunk: Jumps and then dives down to punch foes, with an energy infused strike, dealing physical damage. The more charge you get, the more powerful this move becomes.  
**

**NEW SKILL: Shock: Infuses your fists with paralyzing lightning, temporarily giving you a chance to Paralyze foes.**

The two of them smiled before looking at the knights, all of them on the floor. The two of them were expecting them to get back up to fight again, but only one of them, the yellow glow almost completely gone, stood up, with shaky legs. The two of them got ready to fight… until they widened their eyes at the sight.

The knight held his sword up shakily, his eyes trained on the two of them. However, his helmet slipped off when he was getting up, and they got a full look at the nobleman underneath… or at least, they think it's a nobleman. He couldn't even be called a man, as he looked like a husk of someone who looked like he hasn't even eaten, drank water or slept in so long, and yet for some reason, the man's eyes were still glowing yellow, forcing him to stand and fight. "**Grrrhgggrrrrrrrrg**grrrhhhh…" The man attempted to growl, but it sounded like a painful moan. "**God**… w**ill**… **str**ike… y**ou**… **d**own…" The man muttered, making the two demi-humans step away, not out of fear from what he has said, but at the state of the man himself. The duo still speechless, they didn't notice the man hobble his way in an attempt to strike the two of them, until a giant mass of feathers slammed down onto the man's back and flattening him hard.

"Phiii!" The giant Filolial queen huffed, sneaking a good shot at the enemy. The slam made Raphtalia snap out of her trance, as she saw Filo messily kick away and wipe the blood from the knight onto the grass, who has amounted to being a sorry stain on the floor.

"Eugh! Filo, please, fight somewhere else! Not here!" Raphtalia scolded the bird, who only stuck out its tongue and ran off to fight more baddies. The raccoon girl only rolled its eyes, before turning her head to see Keel in a trance. "Keel? What's wrong?" The raccoon girl asked, as words from Naofumi echoed within her mind days ago…

**.o0o.**

_8 days ago..._

"_Why are you being stubborn about this?"_

_Naofumi asked, concerned at Keel's frustration as she huffed, crossing her arms and looking away from her master. The two of them were packing things up as their stock of medicines, food and accessories were all sold and depleted to the public. Putting their profits in their inventories and around their arms, the two of them were finishing up closing the stand up, carrying the wooden planks on their arms._

"_Because…!"_

"_Because what?" The man narrowed his eyes at the young woman, but she glared back, which was a first._

"_Because you should have been more generous to that demi-human lady, Master Naofumi." She finally explained why she was acting irrational, which made Naofumi raise an eyebrow._

"_Keel, we're not made of money." Naofumi noted. "We were barely able to scrape by with a stable economy for one whole town, purely with the goods I was able to sell, to repair and revive Iwatani in a short time. We cannot afford to do donations to a beggar, no matter who it is."_

"_She was a demi-human, with three sick kids!" The wolfgirl protested, but Naofumi shook his head._

"_Then she probably should have bought three regular quality Healing Medication Potions, instead of you giving five of my Divine Quality Healing Medication Potions for free. If she explained it to me, instead of you making a big fuss about it, then maybe I would have slipped in one if she bought her fill."_

"_But you can make more, right?"_

"_That's not the point right now, Keel." Naofumi had his hand up, covering his face in slight frustration. "People can take advantage of you if you were any more overwhelming with your generosity, like asking for a bargain 'through the goodness of their hearts', you understand?" _

"_But she was suffering!" Keel exclaimed to him, while Naofumi kept his eyes on the road._

"_Everybody suffers. It isn't limited to just demi-humans." The Shield Hero rebuked back in a calm voice._

"_Not humans…" Keel muttered back, in a small soft voice that only Naofumi could hear. Turning his head towards her, he was going to scold her for that thinking, before he noticed, in the corner of his eye, a few shadows lurking about in the crowd following him._

"_Follow me…" The man told his slave, who powerwalked ahead. Keel followed along, confused at what he was doing, until she felt movement from behind, aimed directly at her and Naofumi. Her ears picked up their mutterings as the clearing crowds became more and more distant._

"_...you believe it, Brahne? The Shield God, here, in the middle of this stupid settlement filled with filthy humans…"_

"_...to think that He not only has a tanuki whore by his side yesterday, but now a lupin demi-human bitch with her too…"_

_Keel widened her eyes at the line. It sounded like it was a female growling that line out._

"_...they were exiled long ago, but they should have been slaughtered like lambs…"_

"_...deserves more than just those two. Our God requires more…"_

"_Enough. Brahne. Kagong. Ready yourselves when we reach the alleyways. We'll introduce ourselves there…"_

"_Yes, Captain Soroban._

_Keel began to feel creeped out, but also angered by their choice of words. Nobody appreciates being called a skank, not even Keel. But Naofumi's neutral expression has her perplexed, as the two of them, along with the five cloaked figures following them discreetly from behind, entered an alleyway. It was then, when they were close to approaching him, the man dropped his planks of wood and supplies to the ground in a large thud._

"_Eh?!" Keel jumped, scared from the sudden noise as the tension before was beginning to get heavy. Suddenly, the man stretched out his left hand, with the Shield attached, and simply said:_

"_**Wall.**__"_

_Two invisible walls arose from either side of the alleyway, cutting off any sort of easy exit. Soon, the man turned around, facing the stalkers, with Keel turning as well. It was odd, but she noted one of them breathing heavily, with a bit of steam coming out like twin vents. "Off with the hoods, all of you. What does Siltvelt want from me?"_

_Keel gasped a little from the information. These people were from Siltvelt? If so, then that means… The wolf girl suddenly became wary, knowing that her own parents and Raphtalia's parents did not speak very highly of Siltvelt, or refuse to talk about it at all. She didn't know why, but now she has a small smidgen of an idea, and she did not like it._

_The leader grinned, before three of the five of them knelt down, with their hoods unveiling their faces. One of them was a Genmu, a demihuman man with a bald head and green hair on his chin and eyebrows, along with having a turtle shell hidden within his cloak, which was why he looked so hunched. The second one was a lizard beastman, with rocky rough scales for skin rather than green smooth scales for skin, almost like his skin was entirely made of rocks. Finally, the third one was a hippopotamus beastman with purple skin, eyeshadow, lipstick and blush, along with a smile that creeped out the Shield Hero and Keel, for it was as if the hippo beastman was trying to be… alluring. The twin vents came from her nostrils, much like geysers of steam. The last two did not reveal themselves, but they bowed their heads nonetheless. Soroban then raised his head, along with the other two beastmen, and smiled in a welcoming sense. "We are the proud beastmen and demi-humans of Siltvelt, our Saviour of the Shield, and we-."_

"_Ahem." Soroban's voice was cut short from Naofumi. "ALL of you. Including your... slaves, Genmu." Naofumi, eyes narrowed, alerted the turtle demi-human by his species name alone. That made the three of them widen their eyes in shock, seeing as they have not expected their Shield God to command them of something like that before. Complying, they turned their heads and nodded to the two smaller cloaked beings, who unveiled their faces to Naofumi and Keel. The former narrowed his eyes at the sight, while Keel felt horrified at the sight._

_The two of them were children. One of them with a gouged out eye, and another with dried blood in his hair. Enslaved human children, possibly damaged beyond repair, working for Siltvelt's people, whether they like it or not._

"_Well well. Not humans, you say…" Naofumi muttered to Keel, who instantly felt her stomach twist, regretting the words she has said before the encounter. His attention was then turned back to the Siltveltians. "What is it that you want?"_

**.o0o.**

"Everybody… suffers…" Keel muttered out again, remembering the words Naofumi ingrained into her. It was not just demi-humans who were suffering the prejudice, but human children in demi-human civilizations who were suffering as well.

"Huh…?" Raphtalia didn't quite catch that, but Keel turned to her with renewed determination.

"There has to be a way to save them!" Keel told her. Raphtalia didn't know exactly what she meant, or what made her ideal change, but the sight of the malnourished man must have did something. "That man… he was hypnotized, right? That means that there must be a way to snap them out! Cmon!" Keel beckoned, grabbing Raphtalia and dragging her towards the knights, but before the two of them could even think about a solution, the sounds of a warcry was heard, and a big man within ornate armour, leather boots and black gloves, holding a giant **Viking** axe with two hands and began to charge towards the pair of demi-humans into battle.

**.o0o.**

"There you are..." Naofumi addressed with an edge in his voice, at the sight of the people he wanted to take down: The Bow Hero and his party, consisting of the Itsuki, covered in a light purple gard with a cloak with the Church's symbol on it, a big mustached man in armour, one pink-haired mage in a white cloak, a blonde woman in strapped leather wielding two knives, and a green-haired girl clumsily wielding a sword.

"The Shield Demon… To think you would be here… It seems God has deemed you unworthy to live any longer!" The big mustached man declared, drawing his sword and shield out.

"If God wanted me to not live, he should have killed me long ago. But I'm still standing, fool." Naofumi retorted, noticing a twitch on the man's eye and on his hand, before he grew even angrier. The other party members readied their weapons as well, intent on ending their adversary.

"Silence, you devil. You will fall!" The mage declared, before charging a spell. Naofumi rolled his eyes as a fireball was launched at him, and he simply knocked it aside, like it was a ball of feathers.

"Hmph. Your party members really are weak. Not even a scratch." The Shield Hero declared, which made them snarl. "What happened to the oh so mighty, prideful and righteous Bow Hero that would slay the Shield Demon for their transgressions against them? Well?! All I see is a _shrimp!_" Naofumi finished, but widened his eyes at what he said… He hasn't said those words since… He didn't have time to contemplate as the Bow Hero drew his arrows and fired. The Shield Hero blocked or shuffled his stance to avoid them. however, he noticed a twinge of anger on the blank face of Itsuki, almost as if he's trying to say something.

"Fueeh! Don't you dare say that to Lord Itsuki!" The green-haired one shouted at Naofumi fervently, surprising since she looked to be the one with the least backbone, and charged with her sword. However, Naofumi simply grabbed her and threw her aside, dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. The others seemed to not care, and the girl was frail enough to become unconscious at the landing.

"Hmph! Taste our steel, demon!" The knight and rogue rushed the Shield Hero, but the man simply ducked underneath them, and swapped to **Machinist**, firing bullets at their legs. "AAAUGH!" The two of them cried out, falling to the floor, pain erupting in their legs. The man then quickly fired at the mage, who was charging another spell, right on his hands.

"Yeooooow! Auugghhh...!" The mage cried out, his hand pierced by the bullet, before falling to his knees, his hands ripe with pain.

Naofumi, almost feeling insulted by the display, looked at Itsuki incredulously. "Are you kidding?! Is your party this weak?! Do you not plan any strategy?! What kind of leader are you?!" Naofumi shouted at Itsuki, who continued to just shoot arrows without a word, unable to land a good hit. However, he began to see that he was generating a reaction, from the twitching eyes and shaking arms, as if he knew what was going on... but he wasn't breaking free.

"D-Don't…" The big armoured man crawled, trying to grab Naofumi's ankle, but the man just lifted his foot and stomped on the man's hand, crushing the bones within like a broken crab. The big man screamed in pain, cradling his broken hand, as Naofumi grabbed Itsuki by the collar.

"Disappointing. Motoyasu was a much stronger threat than you." Naofumi articulated to the young man, before punching him repeatedly in the face. It didn't hurt the Bow Hero, since he was still in **Shield Hero**, but it didn't matter. In fact, it could either be the fact that the Bow Hero was weak, or that the Shield Hero was strong, or maybe even both, but Itsuki was beginning to bruise. Naofumi didn't care, and landed one final blow, knocking him out of his grip and onto the grass. The man expected some shouts from his party members, but he was coloured surprised as he saw the mage getting up, and the two others on their knees without a mere glance or mention about Itsuki. "Hm? I thought you would be more or less worried about your leader."

"I-I-It doesn't matter…" The knight growled, but in a forced tone. "We'll stop the Shield Demon, as is written by God Himself…!"

"Rrrrgh! Mald is right! You're more important to take down right now…!" The rogue muttered, trying to stand up. Her words seemed to be coming out of her mouth, but at the same time, it felt like it wasn't her own. Naofumi narrowed his eyes, noticing that this was a tone that should not belong to someone in a party.

"Who said that? You? Or that **Purification** curse that was inflicted on you by your God?" The Shield Hero demanded, picking up the rogue in a chokehold. "Try to break out of it! Cmon! Isn't your loyalty to this shrimpy Bow Hero stronger than that freaking curse?! Aren't you his friend?!"

"Grrr! We would never say anything to someone as demonic as you!" She hissed, irritating Naofumi further. So the man took a deep breath, and decided to give a little demonstration on how far he would go.

"Fine. Have it your way." Naofumi finished, clearly having enough. Knowing that the party members are in that curse, but are not even trying to break out, he wasn't going to let them get the last word. Changing to **Holy Knight**, the man raised his sword, a beam of light shining from the sky to the 'sword' as glowing swords appeared out of thin air above the trio.

"W-What is that…?!" The mage blurted out, breathless at the beauty. The three of them were unable to take in that those heavenly swords came from the Shield Demon.

"Call it your resignation! **Gaze deep into the holy light of the Divine as you shall be cleansed from your blackest sins and sent to your final rest! Heavenly Light!"** Naofumi rained down the swords down on the fat knight, rogue and mage, all helpless against the shower of swords as they stabbed right through them at various places.

"Gaaaahhh! Noo…! I-I can't…!" The knight tried to reach out for nobody in particular, as blood came out of his mouth, before breathing his last.

"Ahhh! Such light…! Such… b-bliss…" The rogue let out, unable to think of anything else other than the light, as she was impaled to death.

"N-No…! There's… still…!" The mage uttered out, blood in his throat making it incoherent as all life left his body. As the swords disintegrated into light, Naofumi then turned around and met Itsuki, beginning to stand up.

"Well well. You haven't learned your lesson yet, have you, shrimp?" Naofumi muttered, before seeing something different emerge. "Are you finally breaking out now?"

"Kill… Kill… Nao...fumi…!" Itsuki muttered, his teeth snarling, his breathing a lot heavier, as he prepared to aim his bow again, this time with determination to kill his fellow hero. His eyes were focused, not dead with hypnosis, but bright and alive… and green. A green aura began to permeate from Itsuki, the man breathing deeply as he drew his arrow again. Now he was finally getting a reaction, possibly from what Itsuki witnessed while under mind-control, and the words of his dismissive allies. Naofumi raised his Shield to block the arrow over and over, as he continued to walk. The sight of Itsuki's green eyes... it brought back memories of hatred within.

"Those eyes… I remember those eyes…" Naofumi snarled, flashbacks of the past coming back to him. The arena in Zeltoble, his friends and party members kidnapped, the faux emperor who stood before him, laughing at his face… Rage long forgotten began to well deep from Naofumi, as the man stalked up to Itsuki, just like how he did with the previous Bow Hero.

"Nao...fumi…" Itsuki breathed out. "You… killed… them…! My… only… friends…!" The Bow Hero continued to let loose his new arrows, but Naofumi simply shuffled and twisted his body left and right, dodging the clumsy arrows, as he headbutted the heavily weakened Itsuki onto the floor.

"That's proof that you're weak! That's proof that you're no Hero! You couldn't even keep your 'so-called friends' within your loyalty!" Naofumi bellowed at the young man, as the Shield Hero kneeled overtop Itsuki and proceeded to pound his face over and over. Images of the past, along with the sounds of defiant screams and bloody cries circled all around him.

"_**You…. Rgghhh! You… can't do this…!**__" Yoichi snapped at the Shield Hero, his __**Curse Series: Rage**__ disappearing as he stood above the fallen Bow Hero. The young man's armor and body was broken and brutally beaten and burned. Scars, bruises and burns littered the man's perfect visage. Yet with his pride still unbroken, Yoichi still yelled obscenities and hate towards the Shield Hero, his judicial view unwavering._

_The Shield Hero landed another punch on Yoichi, sending another wave of pain onto the man. He knew it wasn't doing damage, but he knew Yoichi could feel the pain. "Shut up! You call yourself a Hero?! After everything you have done?! After everything you haven't done?! How can you call yourself the Embodiment of Justice if you have done nothing at all to even do justice?!" Naofumi rebuked._

He remembered the heat and the hatred he felt for the Bow Hero. Out of everybody, nobody pissed him off more than the Bow Hero and all of their incarnations, their narrow-minded views of the world and self-centered and cowardly ways only made him angrier. It felt like Yoichi was underneath him, writing in pain as he continued to punch his insufferable face.

"_**You…! If it wasn't for you, the… the world wouldn't have to suffer! I would have made this world right! If it wasn't for you forcing Ryudo and Yokubo backing out, I would have-!**__" Yoichi roared out, unable to move his arms, suffering from second to third degree burns._

"_Don't make excuses. You're weak! Powerless! Unworthy! You think anybody wants someone as arrogant and selfish as you to be 'emperor'? How can you be a hero without a party?! How can you be an emperor without a legion?! How can you be a decent human being without respect for others?!" _

Naofumi knew it wasn't Yoichi he was beating up underneath him, but it felt so… cathartic? He did not want to say that. Soon, he felt a trickle of blood coming from Itsuki's nose, but it still wasn't enough. He'll just rise out of the ashes to strike him down, like before. He remembered. Long ago… inside the burning house, he saw him there… with the other two heroes… grinning maniacally as he drew the last arrow towards his beloved.

**.o0o.**

"_**Yoichi… Ryudo… Yokubo…!"**__ The three men shuddered at the sound of a broken voice. They had just finished dealing with Naofumi's beloved in a slow and tortuous manner, and yet… the three of them couldn't remember what drove them to even kill her in the first place. It felt like there was a voice… a dark voice… telling them that Naofumi has taken everything from them._

"_N-Naofumi…!" Yokubo stammered, stepping backwards, tripping on a stray brick. The three of them watched a menacing dark aura, different from the __**Shield of Rage**__ aura of flames, as it warped through and around the burning house._

"_**You… You… did this?**__" Naofumi uttered, his eyes covered in tears as the world went silent._

_Yokubo and Ryudo didn't say anything. The Spear Hero only looked down on the ground, while Ryudo only drew out his sword wordlessly. But nothing, **nothing** compared to Yoichi only having a big evil smile on his face._

"_It was us." He proudly stated, the once proud man regaining his pride, as he stepped aside, showing the corpse of the poor maiden that Naofumi started a family with. The same woman Naofumi took in, whom he has fallen for, who he was planning to make a family with... All of that taken away.  
_

"_**N-No… why…?!**__" The Shield Hero sobbed out, the aura getting stronger, almost blinding. The has-been Bow Hero only howled with manic laughter in response._

"_Because it isn't fair that __**you**__ get to have this kind of life!" Yoichi roared out, his smile getting wider, not caring that the other two has-been heroes were here beside the crazed lunatic. "__**I'M**__ the main character of this world! __**I**__ should've been the one who got the best ending, with a family and love life! Everything should be revolving around __**me**__! Instead, you damned me into slavery in those… damn pig pens! You damned me from ever having even a single woman loving me in my route! You damned me from ever getting justice for your wrongdoings as you were loftly sitting on your own damn throne! I have __**NOTHING**__**!**" The past Bow Hero let out in a heinous roar, unable to hold it all back. His eyes looked lost in his own deceit and craze, not realizing Naofumi only looked down. "Heh… you realize it now? The tables have turned...! You... the vile villain... have nothing now…! **I WON!**"_

_Only blinding silence and the crackling of the burning house was left, as the last two words Yoichi left echoed in Naofumi's mind. Deep within the void, Naofumi could only feel his world shatter apart. His happy life, shattered to pieces. His wife and his future kid, completely gone for good. His own people and friends, lost to their own sins… Inside his head, a voice echoed inside._

_**Does it grieve you, Naofumi, to see the deep depths of your own weaknesses laid bare? To see your comrades turn and bares their teeth again the chattel that you are? To see your precious ones mutilated and be handpicked a fate worse than death by the gods themselves? … Mmmm, that face~... I will remember that face of complete loss and anguish to the day you die.**_

_Naofumi couldn't take it anymore, and screamed._

**.o0o.**

Naofumi stood up. The beaten bloodied and bruised Itsuki underneath was unconscious from the pain. The green aura gone. His green eyes covered by the swollen bruises. The man gave a deep breath… and noticed the earth shaking from the grassy fields.

'_Raphtalia! Keel!'_ His thoughts spoke out his actions, and left in a hurry, leaving the body behind.

Little did he know, that by the time he returned, Itsuki would be gone, along with his green-haired companion.

* * *

********THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED! DO NOT READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS WARNING, FOR THERE ARE MISSING PLOT ELEMENTS I AM RE-EDITING INTO! THERE IS EDITING IN PROGRESS FOR ALL CHAPTERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!********

* * *

**Sorry this took so long again. It's the tail end of work, and things are getting hectic. Chapters are getting longer, and I do not like that, but I gotta fit all those words and story somehow!**

**So we finally get more context about one of the Heroes: Hokotora Yoichi, the OC Bow Hero from over a century ago, a man who believes in a warped view of justice, to the point of having it warping his own personality as time flew by. His appearance is a cross between Yoichi from Nasa No Yoichi, and the Yoichi archer from the scroll paintings. He has the Bow of Pride, as part of his own Curse Series, and it looks like it has passed onto Itsuki! During the Novel, Itsuki got this really late, and it made him into a piece of wood for the latter half of the volumes. So he's gonna get it a lot earlier this time, just to save a lot of hassle in the future.**

**Also, it's not the last you'll see of Yoichi! What do you think of the OC Yoichi? What suggestions can you add to make him more better as a character?**

**Another thing: I'm thinking of editing the past chapters, as I am noticing a lot more grammar mistakes that I've foolishly left. That would mean the chapters will take a lot longer. Is that okay?**

**Yes, Naofumi in the flashback is OP. He kind of supposed to be, considering that he's been in a war against a lot of other people, compared to three nations fighting an even smaller nation. So it would make sense for Naofumi having more EXP and skills to overpower anybody.**

**Yes, Naofumi, in the past, had the Shield of Rage. However, he doesn't seem to have it in the present, or even in the flashback during his beloved's death. I wonder why...?**

**Yes, Naofumi has spell usage on his Shield of Rage. In the novel, he had Megiddo Flare (which might as well be a flare laser in FFXIV), but for here, he has Megiddo Meltdown (which is essentially the same thing).**

**Yes, Filo will talk soon. It takes a while since Naofumi got the growth boosts later than intended.**

**Yes, Naofumi and Keel's meeting with the Siltveltians from the flashback will come more into effect later, which will affect the negotiations! I wonder what will happen!**

**No, Itsuki doesn't know that his party sans Rishia didn't care for him as a person specifically, tis why the three couldn't free themselves from the hypnosis. He was unconscious, remember?**

**Yes, that deprived man within the armour of the Church Knights isn't out of the blue. Remember, nearly everybody in Melromarc tirelessly worked to find the Shield Demon. I mean EVERYBODY, without breaks, even the children and women.**

**Alright! Hope to see you guys enjoy this chapter! See you soon and don't forget to review! They give me incentive to write more 3**


	28. Chapter 28: Two-Pronged Strike

******THIS CHAPTER IS UP TO DATE!  
******

**Sorry for the lack of updates in a while. It was actually out of depression and COVID-19. The isolation made me a little despondant. Trying to fix my story to help appease or have others enjoy it didn't make it better. But hey, I'll give you guys a chapter, since you were all so patient for this one.**

**I do not own The Rising of the Shield Hero. I do own the OCs however.**

* * *

On the grassy plains of the battleground, the giant of a man charged towards the pair of demi-humans, belting out a battlecry before slamming his axe down. The ground erupted into massive earth spikes, capable of impaling just about anything standing in their way, and they were quickly approaching his targets. Raphtalia and Keel jumped into the air, avoiding the spikes, but that left them wide open for an aerial attack.

"Rrggghhhh!" The viking bellowed, before leaping high like a rocket, his axe ready to strike from below. Raphtalia wasn't going to give him any leeway however. Recovering, she raised her sword, as it shone a pale silver.

"**Radiant Moonstrike!**" The raccoon girl slashed downward, firing a disk of ice and shining moonlight towards the viking. The viking struggled for a few seconds, but broke right through it and shoved the shaft of his giant axe on Keel's stomach.

"Uggahh!" The wolfgirl cried out in pain, spit coming out of her stomach. It really hurt, as Keel clutched her stomach, unable to see the viking rear its axe into the air, ready to strike down on her head. Raphtalia wasn't having any of that. Sheathing her sword quickly, she gained a speed boost and slashed repeatedly, sending a good number of ice waves towards her opponent who, after a couple of ice waves, couldn't finish his strike, as the three of them fell down onto the ground . The unknown viking, gone silent from being stuck in thick sheets of ice, and Raphtalia, holding helping a struggling Keel, all landed, with the wolf girl rubbing her bruise.

"That… that really hurt! Who is this guy?!" Keel stammered in pain, before the Viking swung wildly, breaking the sheets of ice. "He hits much harder than Master…! Urrgh...!" The wolf girl doubled over in pain. The jab from the axe hurt a lot more than intended.

"Don't move, Keel…! You're hurt!" Raphtalia tried to help Keel up to her feet and gave her a health potion to drink. Quickly downing the bitter potion, the pain subsided and Keel stood back up straight, back to fighting posture. Good thing too, because the Viking broke through and charged once again, raising his ace upwards and slamming it towards the pair. This time, the two demi-humans were ready.

Keel jumped out of the way while Raphtalia simply sidestepped, drawing her ice sword out and traded blows against the Viking. _'He's powerful, but maybe I can slow him down instead of attacking him!' _Knowing that she herself wasn't as powerful to contest against her opponent, she then opted to fight defensively, parrying and dodging the axe-wielder's slow yet powerful blows. Between the strikes, she would continue to swing her sword at him, spreading **Frost Waves **on his juggernaut armour and, eventually, there were signs of him being slowed down. However, on the fourth strike, the Viking wordlessly swung his axe in a cyclone, with Raphtalia barely managing to block the low on her gut. "Gyaah!" She cried out, not in pain, but from the force of being blown back. She didn't get hurt, but it sent her flying and landing on her back, and rolling on her feet, only to see the armoured barbarian a few feet away, about to shoulder tackle her.

"Raphie!"

The voice of Keel and a sudden shadow caught Raphtalia's and the armoured man's attention, as Keel dashed in and landed a jump kick right on the man's head. It indeed make him stumble from the vicious head blow, but not enough to knock him off his feet. "Go and rest. Leave it to me." The wolf girl stated to her best friend, before going into a fighting stance and went on the offensive.

Recovering from the stagger, the Viking raised his axe to block the lighting fast blows of Keel and her fists. The wolf girl saw what Raphtalia was doing to their opponent and, remembering just how much pain she was in from one of his soft blows, Keel knew she had to play it carefully. Charged with lightning, the wolf girl rushed in, hitting the fighter's arms and stomach, hoping to paralyze him, as she continued to dodge. While the ice slowly began to fade away, the hit-and-run tactics and the jolts of lightning fists actually began to have an effect. The assailant's limbs shook off the ice and frost, but had to now contest with his limbs shaking with electrical paralysis. _'Alright! No way he can break out of this!'_ One final electric strike on the man's armour caused him to stumble. With Raphtalia charging back in, seeing an opportunity to strike, both of them rushed in, delivering a killing blow. However, they were interrupted from a battle cry that made them cover their ears. The two of them had their legs buckled and shook, unable to move from the unknown Viking's roar, before he shook off the paralysis. His body glowed an imposing golden colour, raising his stats much like the other soldiers of the Church, and raised his giant axe towards the two. "G-Gr…! C-Can't…!" The two of them struggled to stand, seeing the shadow of the man's axe fall onto their heads, executioner style.

"**Windslicer Pinion!"**

A condensed powerful hurricane, made of sharp wind blades, collided with the berserk fighter square in the chest, making him stumble backwards from the sheer force. Fleet footsteps were then heard from Raphtalia and Keel's right, as a massive filolial jumped into the air and slammed its feet onto the armoured man's body, making him unceremoniously fly a good distance away. The pair looked up, seeing Filo, their rescuer, smiling at them, with Rino on her back. However, the mage girl didn't look that well, as she looked exhausted and sweaty, along with her staff, which was completely gnarled up and slashed into pieces.

"Thank goodness... we… made it here...!" Rino spoke between her panting, before laying on the big bird's soft back. The girls and the bird looked at her with concern.

"Rino, what happened!?" Raphtalia rushes towards her as Filo lowered herself into a sitting position, worried about her newfound friend as well. Both of them thought that she was wounded or worse, but a check over from the raccoon girl noted that she was just exhausted.

"I-I'm fine, big sister…" Rino reassures the young woman. The last wind spell she fired was incredibly powerful, even more so than the magic she was used to. "I'm just… using the magic Naofumi taught me… _His _spells."

"What? His spells…?" Raphtalia raised an eyebrow at that, while incensed that Naofumi would teach something that dangerous to a child, she couldn't help but be piqued by the new knowledge surrounding Naofumi's magic. Perhaps it may explain more about him.

"I-It's not like he taught me spells out of my league! It's just… I kind of demanded him to teach me…" Rino admitted frantically.

**.o0o.**

_7 days ago..._

"_You want me to teach you magic?"_

_Rino, the mage girl, only nodded to her current party leader, who only stared back, somewhat incredulously. The girl was only recently practicing her magic and studies, before she realized that she has plateaued. Well, more like she doesn't have any more material to study or learn, since she was all out of books at the moment; and she knew all the spells from her material by heart. Knowing that she was outside of Melromarc, and away from her source of books and magic tomes, she had to seek another source._

_It wasn't as if she was deathly curious about what else Naofumi was hiding. No sir._

"_Yes. Please, Lord Naofumi. I wish to expand my repertoire. I was hoping you knew any magic spells to teach me, since… well..." She grew a little silent, trying to find the right words. "I remember you using powerful magic back at… Melromarc… during the Wave and during... no. After the Waves as well..." She murmured, trying to get the images of that night out of her head. "...And that spell and incantation you used over by the hill at the edge of town to uncover that passage… It's nothing I've heard before… And I realized that your magic incantations are much more different compared to other mages I've read about and they were more powerful than I could ever imagine and-!"_

_The man was silent at the questions and run-on praises thrown at him at rapid fire pace. The girl was a black hole for knowledge, Naofumi thought, but was at least humble enough to not demand it. However, the man simply raised a finger, and she stopped herself and calmed her breathing down. "Don't you have your own books to learn spells from? The… __**Zweite**__ series or something…?" He noted with a raised eyebrow, and she nodded wordlessly, but was still determined. "Then find more. You clearly want to learn more magic, so find more and keep learning about it yourself."_

"_W-Wait! H-How-?! What about you?" The mage girl stammered. "I thought you were going to train me!"_

"_My methods of magic may be difficult and alien to you, Rino. Much more than you think. I don't want to force it on you. The strain is too much for you." Naofumi warned. "We'll go to the nearby towns to buy more magic tomes for you when-."_

"_No!" She snapped at him, before gasping and covering her mouth, as if she just swore and offended him. The silence was deafening between the two, as Naofumi only raised an eyebrow at her insistence… before narrowing his eyes, as if he was boring his eyes into her soul. "I-I… I just…"_

"_Why my magic? What's your reason?" Naofumi inquired suddenly as she dropped her hands from her mouth._

"_Huh?"_

"_Is it for… power?" Naofumi crosses his arms and knelt down to Rino's level, which made the girl a little nervous and very silent. Mainly, because it was true._

"_Y-Yes…" Stuttering a little, she nodded. She has seen what he has done: cause floods, command the earth, even knows a massive teleportation spell, the size and scale unseen or unheard of… It was as if they were completely made up. There was no way she could keep the truth to herself: she did want power. There was an air of uncertainty and hesitation around her however, and Naofumi didn't need to look at her to notice it. However, he continued to interrogate._

"_For what reason do you want that power?" That made Rino silent. It was clear that she didn't know what exactly she wanted the power for… or at least, what was the best answer to tell Naofumi what she wanted the power for. To show off and flaunt? To serve and protect? For who? For what? _

_Naofumi knew that look on her face. Pursed lips, furrowed eyebrows, hand on her chin, struggling to come up with a reason… or at least, a reason she would admit to him. "I… need more time on that question, Lord Naofumi..." Rino embarrassingly bowed, spun on her heels and tried to run off, but was stopped from the aforementioned Lord gripping her shoulder._

"_...Maybe I'll show a demonstration." Naofumi didn't want his mage party member to leave empty handed. The little girl brightened up and smiled, wanting to delve more into Naofumi's secrets. Watching with a keen eye, she sees the man bend downward and his hand entangling with a few blades of grass._

'_What is Lord Naofumi doing…?' She thought to herself, before seeing what looked to be wind-elemental mana drawn from the land itself and into the man's arm. The girl looked absolutely astonished, as she knew that no one in Melromarc could do what Naofumi was doing… until she realized the words: 'No one in Melromarc' were in that question. 'Is this something he learned in Siltvelt?' She asked herself, before the man's eyes lit up, lifting his arm and began chanting an incantation._

"_**Condense, O roaring tempestuous gales! Blast away and disarray the wicked! Windslicer Pinion!**__"_

_The air mana condensed in Naofumi's arm, before he gave his forearm a hard thrust. Out came a pressurized wind tunnel, almost like a blade of light, right towards a nearby tree. The condensed hurricane drilled into the tree, before breaking the trunk in half, causing it to fall over. "There…" Naofumi muttered, shaking his arm off, before looking at the gaping Rino._

"_That… I've never seen that level of magic before… How did you learn it?" Rino asked, but Naofumi shook his head._

"_I'm not telling you. It's dangerous." Naofumi warned her, shaking his head and closing his eyes in contemplation. "Sure, it's dangerous and has the possibility to kill you, especially with wind mana, but it is more potent if handled precisely and correctly. It's nothing like your Melromarcian __**Zweite**__ series or whatever you learned. It's a lot more-."_

"_Like this?" Rino squeaked out. Naofumi was going to reprimand her, but as he opened his eyes, he spotted her hand coated in swirls of wind mana, much to his genuine shock. While instincts told her to stop what she was doing and forcefully channel the wind mana into his body, that amount of immeasurable concentration and talent to be able to handle wind mana (hell, being able to handle natural mana was a feat in and of itself) was a feat in and of itself. However, he needed to make it safe for her, despite the wind mana she was channeling was a little small, so he quashed the shock and anger down, and began to calmly instruct her on handling it._

"_Keep concentrating, Rino, and stay calm. Channel all of the gathered wind mana into your staff." The Shield Hero's words resonated into her mind and, slowly but surely, the green aether left her hands and began to coat the wooden staff. The long trails of glowly green aetherial mana looked stunning around the wooden sheen of the oak staff, but Rino was beginning to lose her calm and cool. She could feel the blades that were once gently coating her hands like a gentle breeze begin to bite at her; digging into her skin like an icy tempest. Spotting the mana beginning to lose control, Naofumi knew that Rino could not hold it much longer, and gave a hard swat to the staff._

"_Ahh!" Rino broke her concentration from Naofumi knocking the wind-infused staff away, before the staff glowed green and was immediately and mercilessly sliced into pieces by the unseen wind. That made her gasp at the sight. Was that what would have happened to her hands if she lost concentration? The thought of her hands cut up, blood flying out, that alone made her shiver, and fall onto her knees at the implication. 'So that was what Lord Naofumi was talking about… the dangers of handling mana…' _

"_Do it again."_

"_H-Huh?" Rino looked at Naofumi with fear in her voice, but was confused at the sight of him kneeling down, his Shield emitting a light showing materials used to make weapons, and giving her a newly crafted Oak Staff. "W-Where did-?"_

"_Just crafted it, and I can craft a lot more. Now, give it another try."_

**.o0o.**

Pulling out another Oak Staff to heal Keel's bruise, the girl gave a small sigh of relief. "I still have the scratches, but Lord Naofumi was patient enough to teach me. He said that he 'saw the talent that I had' and that it shouldn't go to waste using the **Zweite** series of spells…"

"That was dangerous of him to teach you if it harms you though…" Raphtalia noted, shaking her head. She would have to talk with Naofumi about it.

"It's fine. I haven't lost a finger yet, big sis." Rino light-heartedly chuckled at the joke, making the raccoon girl smile back in relief. But the silence was broken due to the sound of rustling foliage, making the four of them alert at the sound. Raphtalia drew her blade, Keel readied her gauntlets, Filo bent her knees and got ready to charge, and Rino held fast to her staff. Thankfully, they spotted a familiar mop of black hair and a green cape instead of the Three Heroes Church attire.

"Master!/Lord Naofumi!/ PHII!" Naofumi nodded to the four of them, seeing that they were alright. The big bird ran up to her owner and rubbed her feathery head on her master's shoulder.

"All cleared out?" He inquired, with Keel and Raphtalia nodding in response. "Good. Let's meet back with Étoile and Ake. Who knows what has happened to them and the people…" Walking towards the forest, the rest of the group followed, breathing a sigh of relief that their defense was a success… until they saw a flock of birds fly away, heard an inhuman screech and felt the ground shake a little. Immediately realizing that he spoke too soon, the Shield Hero pulled out the **Job System Wheel** once more, and began to run towards the Southern Iwatani Forest, with the others, worried for the worst, trailed no farther behind.

From the back, they missed a beaten-up and cut-up man, slowly marching out of the trees and trudging slowly towards the party's direction. His armour completely busted, and his axe nearly broken, but his eyes still glowing a mixture of beastial raging red and holy golden light.

"**...**mUsT**...kIlL..._mUsT_...**eXoNeRaTe**...**"

**.o0o.**

"...Everybody is accounted for, ma'am!" The knight saluted after doing his head counts, and Étoile nodded at the affirmation.

"Good. Back to your post, until the Shield Hero returns, and confirms that it is safe." Étoile instructed, and the knight marched back and kept their eyes out. However, the cat-girl dropped her stern demeanor and sighed, tightening her fists together. When she was instructed and stepped foot in the forests, she felt completely restless and sidelined by her party leader. While she knew the reason why, that didn't mean she had to like it.

'_Dammit… it must be like a grand battle out there… and yet I'm stuck here…' _She thought to herself. _'Now I know how those knights on guard duty feel like…'_

"Étoile!" The voice of Ake snapped her out of her reverie, and she looked at the approaching young man, smiling back at her. No matter what, she felt better when he was nearby, like someone she can shoulder the pain for, while having him shoulder her own pain. Before she could respond, the young man gasped, as if he forgot something, before saluting her. "Err… I mean, Vice-Captain Étoile, m-ma'am!"

"E-Eh? Ake, wh-why are you calling me Vice-Captain now?" Étoile stammered, in a state of surprise and disbelief.

"Well, the other knights and rebels… they're calling you Vice-Captain and second-in-command, since Naofumi is the Captain now, and-..."

"No no no! I can't be Vice-Captain! I'm just a knight and a warrior, just like you and them! I don't want any of those titles… It's…" Étoile looked down to the ground and sighed. "It's just difficult."

"How so?" Ake asked, tilting his head. "You would make a fine Vice-Captain, Étoile!"

"Yeah, but… can I ever be as good as _him_?" Étoile looked down, unsurety filling her heart. Ake knew what she meant. Could she be as good as the old Vice-Captain?

"Étoile… You can't be _as _good _as_ him." Ake began, making Étoile look even more downcast. "Instead, you can be better."

That made Étoile look at him with surprise. "Better? What do you mean?"

"Well… back in the academy, I used to try to emulate you a lot, Étoile." Ake admitted. "But it was because you were soooo cool! But when I tried to get on the field, I tried to be a lot more like you… and it didn't work."

"O-Oh…" Étoile muttered, a little split on that statement, but listened as Ake continued.

"But it changed when I met Naofumi. He didn't teach me to be like him… He taught me to be better." Ake smiled and continued, reminiscing the memories. "He taught me to use the shield properly, to learn how to protect, and helped develop rather than emulate. And soon, I became my own fighter! I'm pretty proud of myself, I gotta say! But I wouldn't call myself a carbon copy of Naofumi." Ake blushed and laughed, making Étoile smile, beginning to understand what he meant.

"I… think I can see the connection now…" The warrior nodded. There was no way he could be as good as Naofumi, but he was his own fighter. Nothing like Naofumi, except for their shields. "But how can I be better? Étoile wondered.

"Maybe call yourself Vice-Captain, and help lead?" Ake casually replied with her question with another question. That caused the two of them to smile.

The friendly banter grinded into a halt as their ears heard rustling from around them. Étoile's cat ears twitched and picked up where it was coming from. Her feet nearly took off, until she remembered what Naofumi had taught her: to not be reckless. That nearly ruined the teamwork The sounds of Ake and Étoile drawing their weapons out alerted the other soldiers and townsfolk.

"Phalanx position!" She commanded immediately, and the soldiers, in the span of a few seconds surrounded the townsfolk in an impenetrable circle. Their shields out in front, their weapons drawn, their alertness and attention heightened. It was good for all of Iwatani's citizens, because at the moment the phalanx was finished, out from the trees and bushes revealed white-cloaked Shadows, their weapons drawn, the sigil of the Three Heroes Church on their cloaks. Many of the townsfolk cried and yelped in shock and fear from the sudden ambush, but were thankfully safe from many of the soldiers parrying their strikes.

"We'll keep you safe! Close up the circle! Do not let any of them pass through!" Ake advised in the heat of the battle, standing firm as he threw off two of the assassins onto the ground with his Shield. Many of the soldiers heard, and threw their assailants off, and began their own offense without moving away from their circular formation.

"Graaaaugh! Take this!" One of the soldiers bellowed as he swung his Shield, smashing it into one of the Shadow's faces, dazing him, before getting beheaded by the swinging sword.

"Protect the civilians!" Another soldier struggled to hold his ground against two Shadows, his shield barely able to block their strikes. However, he was saved by Ake, swinging his sword right between the Shadows and his fellow soldier comrade. While he missed one of them due to them backing away, Ake cleanly sliced the other's arm off. The struggling soldier was able to throw the both of them off.

"Thank you…"

"Close the gap! Don't let them get through!" Ake replied, which strengthened their resolve.

"Hyaaaaaaaah!" Étoile roared, slamming her axe to the ground, sending a shockwave that sent three Shadows flying. Her sheer strength was capable for such magnatudious feats. However, as she was pulling out her ass from the hard ground, a blade of silver was thrown at her from the corner of her eye. Having no time to block said blade, she closed her eyes-.

_**CLANG**_

-and felt a shadow covering her, _protecting her_. Opening her eyes and looking up, she spotted Ake blocking the thrown blade with his shield. Smiling in gratefulness and relief, the demi-human warrior didn't have time, as she spotted two more Shadows charging towards Ake.

"Die for our God, traitors!" Both Shadows declared, and weaved towards Ake at both sides, but Étoile and Ake were ready. They didn't even need to communicate on who took which Shadow. They simply struck first, right before they had a chance to plunge their weapons in Ake. The left had her skull broken by Ake's shield bash, while the right had her head caved in by Étoile's axe. The corpses fell as the Shadows for the Pope were now left with half of their numbers. The phalanx was proving to be the soldier's greatest offense. All of the soldiers were taking the brunt of attacks and were all still standing. Yet half of the Shadows have already been slain or crippled beyond belief.

"Yeah! Go Big Brother Ake! Go Big Sister Étoile!" A little voice cheered from the townsfolk. It was the little girl that the two party members of the Shield Hero saved from impending doom. From her one voice, the rest of the others cheered, hoping to boost the soldiers' morale.

"Go get'em!"

"You're our hero!"

"Take them down!" They continued. Many of the soldiers smiled from the praises, readying to fight against the

"Tsk…They cannot leave their phalanx if they are protecting their heathens!" One of the leading Shadows spat out and, with a hand signal, the other Shadows from the Three Heroes Church changed their battle tactics, staying away from direct contact from the knights and readying incantations.

"Shit…! Tighten the formation!" Étoile commanded, and the soldiers formed a literal barricade with their shields as Zweite spells continued to pelt their shields. Fireballs and wind continued to hit them, and many soldiers were beginning to lose their footing.

"V-Vice-Captain…! I can't hold on!" One of the soldiers groaned out in pain before his shield broke, blasting him onto his back. Étoile turned her head, and spotted the soldier on the ground, his armour singed and shield in cinders and pieces. The Shadow spotted the opening and dashed in, readying their spell as well.

"**As the source of thy power, the shadow orders thee. Decipher the laws of creation...**" The Shadow begun to speak, as she ran in, her arms ablaze. Étoile tried to leap over the citizens and cave the enemy's head, but she leapt into the air before the strike landed.

"No!" The demi-human cried out, as the Shadows now had a clear shot right over top the entire panicking citizenry of Lute.

"**...incinerate all who comes on my path and spread death in the name of God! Dreifach-!**"

**SCHLICK!**

A sword, thrown javelin style, went right through the Shadow's head, neck and heart, stopping the spell immediately. As the fire dissipated, the corpse fell onto the grass. Étoile and the other soldier's turned their heads and saw Ake, the owner of the thrown sword.

"Close one…" Ake muttered, his heart calming down a little from stopping the spell that would have caused utter doom. However, searing heat could be felt from behind him, as he turned his head. A large fireball, cast from the remaining three Shadows, began to zoom towards him, bigger than a boulder, and his only had enough time to raise his shield, before it collided and exploded.

"AKE!" The other soldiers rushed towards helping him. The citizens covered their eyes from the dust as they feared for the life of the mayor's son, who just took a giant fireball to the face. However, nobody was as worse off as Étoile, her eyes widening at the sight of Ake, her closest friend that she had for the longest of times, possibly being incinerated into nothing. Taken away so early in his life. Died… for her blunders. Killed… by _Melromarc_.

A deep raging anger boiled deep within. Hyperventilating, she growled as her skin began to redden and her eyes glowed scarlet. Someone precious to her has been killed in front of her eyes. And she wasn't going to let the enemy get away with it.

Many of the knights tried to run into the dust cloud, seeing a figure slumped on the ground. However, the remaining shadows dashed overtop, their hands glowing with mana. The citizens screamed in terror. The knights tried to raise their shields in vain. They knew that they wouldn't be enough to block three **Dreifach** tiered spells.

"**GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!**"

The deafening **Battle Cry** caused all to stop in place and cover their ears. The adults, the children, the soldiers, and most importantly, the Shadows, as their incantations stopped and their spells were cancelled. The ground shook heavily, buckling from the heavy power behind the scream. Paralyzed on the spot and unable to move, the Shadows stumbled, before one of them had his head lobbed off, executioner style, by an enraged Étoile, who charged towards them in a blink of an eye.

The other two assassins couldn't even register that their deaths were certain, as Étoile spun in a cyclone, slashing the two of them up with many deep cuts across their body. Many were awed by the power displayed, until the knights spotted Ake, burned, singed and unconscious on the floor. Gently picking him up, they began to see to his wounds and burns, until they felt a killer intent heavier than they have felt before. It was Étoile, still enraged and now bloodied, who only continued to growl at them.

"V-Vice-C-C-Captain…?" Two of the knights nearest to her backed away in fear. "I-It's us! Y-Your platoon! We're trying to help Ake!" That only got the attention and the snarling face of Étoile looking at them. It was as if they said the wrong word, and she began to slowly step to them, her eyes menacingly glowing.

"M-Mommy…! W-What's wrong with big sis…?"

"S-She's so bloody…!"

"Is she going to attack us…?!" The citizens of Iwatani were afraid that they may have lost her. They even began to back up slightly as the enraged Étoile stomped towards them slowly, bloodied axe ready to kill. However, one brave soul stood up, despite the killer intent, and walked slowly towards her to soothe her.

"P-Please… The enemy is defeated… Ake needs your help... There is no need to fight anymore, V-Vice-Captain Étoi-..." The Mayor of Lute, Father of Ake, tried to allay the demi-human. Despite the damage and possible death of his son, he knew that he must take responsibility to help as well. However, the word 'Vice-Captain' must have been a hair trigger for her rage, as she slowly raised her axe, as images of the scarred man that she looked up to filled her mind. Many cried out, pleading- no, BEGGING for her to stop. However, out of all the cries and screams, one meek voice stood out.

"Urrggh… Étoile?"

The weak voice of an injured Ake snapped Étoile out, as she dropped her axe and knelt down to look at her friend. The flaming rage that was bottled inside of her disappeared immediately, much like blowing out a candle, as everybody else breathed a sigh of relief, as they were close to witnessing and being the victims of Étoile crossing the line to murderer. The young woman took off Ake's bracers and chest, only to gasp at the sight of the many second-degree and third-degree burns across his chest and arms.

"Oh God…" Étoile muttered in horrid disbelief as her hands trembled at the sight. His skin was charred and scarred with many burns. It would take a lot of salves and medicines to heal them, and even after it was fully healed, it wouldn't be enough to remove the burning scars. "This… This is all my fault… I… I…!"

"NO!" Ake belted out, coughing a little and groaning in pain. "This isn't… your fault…"

"B-But I-!"

"I… I would have… done this anyway…To protect the ones I love…" Ake interrupted her, and spoke his piece. "Please… stop blaming yourself… You always take… responsibility... but please… please remember that… that we're on your side too… The knights… the citizens… Raphtalia, Keel… Rino, Filo… and Naofumi too..."

That got Étoile to nod, as tears leaked out of her eyes. Slowly, she hugged him gently and cried in his chest. "I… I almost lost you…"

"Don't… worry… Naofumi trained me... You don't... have to worry… Without his help… with training… and his equipment, who… who knows what could have happened…?" Ake laughed, trying to get up, but the stinging pain made him unable to move for a while. Étoile shook her head.

"Stay… I don't know if Naofumi and the others are ready yet…" Étoile told the young man, smiling at his obliging smile.

"Sure… 'Vice-Captain'." Ake responded, using her title. That caused a bit of dead silence from Étoile, as the knights and citizens wondered if Ake had offended her. However, the two of them laughed heartily, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

One thing did catch the eyes of many. Étoile didn't know why but her hands were trailing on his shoulder… his unarmored shoulder… Étoile didn't know why, but she found herself blushing at that moment. The others smiled, thinking that perhaps maybe… just maybe Étoile may have a thing for-...

"Rrggh…!"

A struggling groan from behind Étoile caught everyone's attention, as one lone Shadow, cut up and bloodied, was standing in a wobbly stance, much like a zombie. Her eyes and the Three Heroes Church sigil began to glow. "Wait… That glow…!" The warrior remembered from Lute, when the zombie soldiers were able to glow golden and raised their stats tremendously.

"RrRrRrRrRrRr**R**rR**rRrRrRrRRgH…!**" The Shadow growled inhumanly, before revealing underneath her cloak many lined canisters. "**YoU wIlL nOt EsCaPe WiTh YoUr LiVeS, hEaThAnS!**" The reanimated Shadow roared in a different yet haunting voice, before lighting all of the canisters like dynamite across her cloak and chest..

"Watch out! Those are bombs!" One of the knights shouted in distress as the Shadow ran towards the citizens and soldiers, in a last ditch effort to wipe them all out.

"She's gonna blow us all up!"

"RUNN!"

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIEEE!"

The world then went white.

* * *

**Ake and ****Étoile vs the church's Shadows was probably the hardest fight scene I had to make. Purely because you have to describe everything that happens. It didn't lower any bit of my enthusiasm out though.**

**What did lower it was some of the reviews and PMs that I gotten. You know who you are, so I'm not going to put up any names for witch hunts. I know that this isn't your cup of tea and you don't like many of the things I am putting in. Even the edits to the storyline aren't really helping either. So I will do small edits for the next few chapters, but that's it. If you don't like what I'm putting out, then that's fine and I respect that. But please do not harass the creator about it. I am doing this on my lonesome (no editor, just myself) and it hurts if you want to be that way.**

**Also, I wonder... what exactly is Naofumi's new job that he's gotten? Keep in mind, he has Filo as his new party member, so he gets a new job! Let me see it in the reviews! Thanks for reading and remember to be safe!**


	29. Chapter 29: Time and Tempering

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero, except for the OCs.**

* * *

_The letter that the Spear Hero, Yokubo Kawatta was his name, gave me led my party and I to another town. From what I heard, the town was known for having the most bountiful harvests of fruit and vegetables, and they regularly have festivals within their marketplaces to celebrate the harvest. When I arrived, I found the gallivanting Yokubo, hitting on his own party members, which were just a few red-haired women. It annoyed me to no end, but he was sincere on what he needed help with: a hunt to kill a large monster._

_The details were thin, but basically, the monster wasn't a big deal, but annoying to deal with. A parasite that can spread itself on any plant left, can infest plant life with a disease that hurts the plants, and is nearly immortal for anyone who doesn't have any plant killing equipment. But we were thankful that Yokubo… conveniently had plant-killing equipment on him. His party and I were able to trap it in a cave, and I sealed it within a cursed box. No mess, no fuss. But just in case, I left a message on the cave walls, and to the townsfolk to never let the parasite out of its confines._

_And then that was when things got messy… when I saw Yokubo pointing the Spear at me… and then I blacked out._

_-Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 9.2_

* * *

'_Sigh…'_

How many times was it? The fifth? The sixth? Valnar, peaceful head of the Shusaku, rubbed his temples with his free limb, continuing to look at the papers in front of him. The reports that he just received from the spies made him shake his head in disappointment. Their goal couldn't be achieved, even with the proverbial threat of war about to happen very soon, with the words in front of him saying:

_Shield God is incredibly adamant to not come back to our sanctuary in Siltvelt. No tributes will meet His demands._

"Is this all to rub it in my face, Geki?"

The prideful head of the Hakuko didn't grin. Instead, he had a deep frown on his face, with the bridge between his eyebrows crinkling up hard. His big muscular arms were crossed across his wide chest, and posture was leaned backwards; appearing lax, but was ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"By now, you should have realized what this implies, correct? Soroban and the others did not return with the Shield Hero by your peaceful manner, even with the promise of executing the Melromarcian Queen and her second princess daughter personally! By now, you should know: the humans have poisoned the mind of the Shield Hero, and must be acquired through any means necessary!" Geki replied, baring his teeth. His voice was powerful, yet it wasn't sounding triumphant at all. "You do know that war is on the horizon… correct?"

Valnar flinched at those words, but he knew that Geki could possibly be correct. While not proven outright, the High Priest was a radical believer in his own belief of the Three Heroes religion. And like it or not, he was going to deal with him and his followers at some point. "Is that why you imprisoned the Queen, the young princess and her personal Shadow in the catacombs? For bribery or for a measly threat? Did her words for being against the Three Heroes Church not ring as the truth to your ears? Or have you been catnapping during the negotiations table?" Valnar shot back his question with many others, irritating Geki. His growls were heard in the pheasant's office.

"Do NOT question my decisions, Valnar! I'd sooner rip out those wings of yours than give in for peace!" Geki roared, but Valnar didn't back down.

"Why then?! Start a losing war, just like the one before where Melromarc wiped out countless others, in senseless death?!" Valnar prodded, knowing that he was touching on very sensitive topics, regarding the war between Melromarc and Siltvelt twenty-five years ago. "You're sounding just like your father!"

"Take that back…!" Geki's roaring voice reverberated throughout the building.

"Grandmaster Kiara Fayon would have said otherwise!" Valnar responded. "There was a reason why her last will stated that your father, Mad King Theodoric Fayon, was not to claim the throne. For he wished to cause a war between us and Melromarc, one where he was felled by King Aultcray! And you would use us as well, to die a senseless death?!"

Deathly silence followed soon after, tension thick enough to be cut with a knife. Only the sounds of a ticking clock was heard... until Geki spoke in a quieter voice. "He made a mistake. I won't make that mistake twice."

"A mistake…?" Valnar couldn't even believe what he was hearing. "All that senseless warring and death… a mistake?!"

"I AM NOT HIM! I AM NOT MY FATHER! I WILL NOT MAKE THOSE MISTAKES AGAIN!" Geki belted out, unable to handle the rage any longer.

Valnar could only glare as hard as he could, resisting the urge to laugh… until the pheasant snarled his next words. "The Mad King would have said those same words."

That did it. Geki growled, anger and rage that has been built up finally reached its peak. He remembered the jeers and insults that were thrown at him during his upbringing. He remembered the painstaking methods he had to use to even become the head of the Hakuko party within the governing branch. And now they are questioning his decisions?! However, before the white tiger demi-human had a chance to strike, another figure jumped in and jabbed Valnar in a specific spot on his gut, causing Valnar to let out some spittle in pain, before falling onto the chair, unmoving. Geki took a deep breath and lowered his head, knowing who exactly made Valnar fall unconscious, as the assassin appeared right by his side.

"You didn't need to subdue him, Jaralis. The Shusaku head isn't any match against me." Geki spoke to the bronze-coloured lion, who knelt by his side.

"I know, my Lord. But this will make it easier for us to bring him into the cell." Jaralis replied, smirking at Geki who raised an eyebrow.

"Right. Then he will be tried in our courts, in front of the other representatives and the officials, for voluntarily releasing a prisoner." Geki explains his plan calmly, as he picks up the unconscious Valnar over the shoulder. That got Jaralis to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? The Raigekigami, using the court of reason and law instead of his own might? Has Valnar's words affected you that much?" Jaralis's cunning words sounded taunting, but Geki glared at him.

"Don't read into it, Jaralis, lest you wish to see who wins in a duel between a tiger and a lion." Geki sharply warned, before beginning to head to the door. "Besides, the other representatives will listen to me and will agree to our declaration of war against Melromarc. For I will not tolerate anyone other kingdom to summon our Shield Hero, nor will I let live the brood of my father's killer, and the other three so-called Cardinal Heroes at our doorstep!"

"Ah! There's the battle-hardened Hakuko I've known years ago! Much respect to your ideals, my Lord!" Jaralis praised, giving an earnest smile and bowing to the powerful demi-human. Geki only huffed, and gripped the doorknob, his last thoughts permeating in his head.

'_I'm not him. I'm not him! My father… Mad King Theodoric killed millions with that senseless war. But I won't make that mistake again. This war… we will win, and Melromarc and the humans will fall to us! And when the Shield Hero is back in our side… __**we**__ will be the victors! Just like the World War a hundred years ago…! The Shield God will be legendary once more!'_

**.o0o.**

Deep within the forests, south of the rebuilt town of Iwatani, laid the bodies of the dead. Silky cloaks of white and adorned gold were messily stained with crimson red life blood and cut up. The crimson path deep in the forest continued, the messy tangle of trees finally reaching a clearing, a group of citizens, and knights, running away, or closing their eyes in fear of their fate.

"RUN!"

"PROTECT THE CITIZENS!"

"AIIIIIIEEEE!"

"MOMMY!"

"NO, MY CHILD!"

The citizens of Lute screamed in terror, and the knights ran too, from the last assassin, lighting her suicide canisters up hidden in her cloak. There was no way all of them could evacuate fast enough. Ake, injured, was too injured to walk, even with the help of his father, Mayor Rolfe. there was no way they could get out in time.

"AKE!"

Étoile, on the other hand, called to him and was about to help him, but saw that he wasn't going to make it out. The Mayor was an old man and there was no way he could get out of the blast range in time. shook herself out of her funk. This gave her flashbacks back at Lute, where everybody struggled to run away and were killed, with their blood on her hands. There was only one thing she could do! Readying her axe, she charged towards the suicide bomber, intent on punting her away.

"ÉTOILE!" Ake managed to cry out her name, but it was in vain. She was too far to stop, and he couldn't watch…!

…

… …

"**Submit thy obedience to the will of void and sky, by Providence true shall time doth abide! Slow Field!"**

The entire clearing turned a monochrome colour, as the world felt like it was going in slow motion. Ake's mind was going fast, but his actions felt like he was going through molasses. It was the same for Étoile, her mind going a mile a minute, yet her body was barely making it to the suicide assassin, but in the end, she was too late. The sparks disappeared into the canisters, and exploded, blowing her back, with the explosive flames licking her skin. She could feel every single explosive impact going on her body. Her very bones felt the incredible impact, launching her backwards in slow motion. All the while, she felt incredible burning pain on her body, her screams unable to get out of her mouth, before her consciousness began to fade.

"**Shield Prison!"**

Before she could suffer any more pain, bits and pieces of a cage began to form, but it wasn't forming up fast enough to cover most of the explosion, possibly due to the **Slow Field**. Suddenly, the world returned back to its original coloured state, as people were running back at regular speed, and the flames of the explosion catching up towards the unconscious Étoile, now flying at normal speed. Thankfully, she had some help catching her.

"Gotcha, big sis!"

Two pairs of hands catches the flying warrior demi-human, thankful she hasn't sustained any more damage from the close-up explosion. As for the flames, Filo landed in front of the three, and flapped her wings to generate wind, powerful enough to shield them from the initial flames.

"Oh thank goodness…!" Ake, witnessing the whole thing, breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing on the shoulder of his father, who also smiled. The Shield Savior and his companions have saved them once again, however, the sounds of a struggle were heard.

"Rrrrrrrrrgh…! **Shield Prison! Shield Prison!**"

It was Naofumi's voice. Looking beyond the big bipedal bird, Ake spotted Naofumi, struggling to keep the explosion within the **Shield Prison**, with visible cracks showing, even after reapplying it a couple times more. His hands were shaky, and his head had drops of sweat from the amount of concentration and SP he was using up to contain the explosion. Even with his powerful defensive options, there was no way he could contain the force, large enough to wipe out everybody in the forest, unless…!

Reapplying the **Shield Prison** one last time, he swapped back to the class he was just using to create the **Slow Field**; a job that he acquired from having Filo in his party.

**Time Mage**

**Control time and space to your leisure and bend it to your will, for the laws of the universe mean nothing! Uses staves, crossbows and handbombs.**

Readying his stick, he began an incantation as fast as he could, purple light encompassing the tip, as the prison is near exploding.

"**Oppressors of the planet, loosen your gaols and release thee into thy river of inescapable fate! Zero Gravity!**"

A sphere of gravitational energy formed around the prison, and Naofumi launched it into the sky as quickly as he could. Many saw the green prison fly into the sky, before it glowed and exploded, covering the sky in a shower of fire.

"T-The Shield Hero…"

"H-He did it…! He saved us!"

"Oh thank God! I thought we were going to die!"

The villagers cheered, saved literally by the skin of their teeth. Some of them accepted their fate before, but now they were befuddled and cried happily in the arms of their loved ones that they were saved. Ake smiled wide, and the Mayor breathed a sigh of relief, patting his son.

"My goodness, I never knew the Shield Hero knew that kind of magic." Mayor Rolfe spoke to his son. "But I'm glad that he's on our side, and that he's your friend, my son."

"Yeah… I should count my blessings on that." Ake responded, before wincing in pain. The fireball he took before still hurt, but his main concern was Étoile. Raphtalia and Keel ran towards the injured knight and mayor, their concern for their fellow friend showing on their faces.

"Ake! You're hurt!" The racoon demi-human cried out in worry, but Ake only shook his head.

"I'm fine, but never mind me. How is Étoile? Is she okay?" Ake asked, frantic about the condition of the woman he looks up to. Keel shook her head.

"She's unconscious, and suffered a lot of burns, but Naofumi and Rino are taking care of her right now." Keel replied, looking down at his condition. There were burn marks on his skin and his armour was nearly wrecked from the blast.

"I need to see her. Please, take me to her." Ake pleaded, and the two of them complied, taking the soldier under the shoulders and helping him walk to where Naofumi, Filo and Rino were. The Mayor, and the other citizens slowly walked back, checking up on the Shield Hero, only to see him and Rino channeling water mana in their hands, forming water in their hands. The two young women and the knight wince at the sight of the unconscious Étoile, burns covering part of her face, her entire arms and some of her neck and torso. Water then formed around Naofumi's and Rino's hands, and they channeled it on Étoile's burnt skin, cooling it down significantly.

"Hold the water steady on her skin." Naofumi told Rino, who only nodded back, and kept her concentration and hands steady. Swapping to** Cleric**, he channeled healing energy onto her, as everybody watched silently. Slowly, her burns disappeared, her skin repaired, and her scars disappeared. Everybody seemed to brighten up at the sight of Étoile looking healthy again, especially Ake, but Naofumi only sighed, and stood up.

"That's all I can do for now. We should head back to town." Naofumi ordered, his voice lower than before. The citizens nodded, and the party members obliged, yet all of them could see that Naofumi was bothered. What it was about… they had an inkling on what his current woe was.

**.o0o.**

Mirellia had only felt fear a few times in her life.

In her childhood, her nanny would always use a scary face to practice diplomacy, review the state of her kingdom and learn many ladylike behaviours, like dancing, strategy and magic. In her teens, she had a fling with a man, which almost turned into a nationwide conspiracy, if not thanks to her own mother and her personal Shadow and trainer. During her diplomatic mission, she got the scare of a lifetime when the Church of the Three Heroes took advantage of her absence in her kingdom, and summoned all four Heroes in her country, with her husband's approval. She feared the potential backlash from all the other kingdoms, and, while many of them prodded her to fix that mistake, Siltvelt was hell bent on making her pay with her life.

In the lightest terms possible, the negotiation finalization did not end well. Mainly because of the big white tiger demi-human. She could see it in his eyes that he was going to get his way (probably why Valnar tried to bar his way, in a rather unsuccessful attempt), and that Mirellia couldn't do anything about it. At that point, she understood what they were doing: they were going to war against Melromarc and the Three Heroes Church, and they will use her, along with Melty, as bargaining chips for complete surrender, in case the war doesn't go well.

Within her animal cage, which was just tall enough to house her, footsteps echoed in the stone hallway. The shadow cast by the torch resembled a familiar body shape of a lion, making Mirellia wary. It has already been two weeks inside the prison, and she was in rough shape; her dress has not been washed in two weeks, and her hair was messy. Soon, the mysterious shadow made himself known.

"Hehehe… I must say, your resilience is quite impressive, Your Majesty." The growling voice of Jaralis drawled out, carrying a body that was too dark to see. However, she recognized the trail of fallen feathers that were falling.

"Your kingdom isn't much better than ours, I must say." Mirellia shot back in a regal tone, one she was barely able to hold up when Jaralis opened the cage in front of her, and chucked the body inside. The light finally shined on the identity of the body, and she identified it as an unconscious Valnar. "To think that you would harm and kill your fellow demi-human, one that wouldn't hurt a soul, and would give his own life for peace?"

"We have standards for our people unlike yours. Valnar is only unconscious for now, and will serve cage time for his treasonous actions." Jaralis shut the cage and turned his head towards Mirellia, a deep frown on his lion features, and harsh words boiling out of his mouth. "Compared to your kingdom, who burns entire towns down and commits genocide, brainwashing, torture and slavery, all for the sole reason of housing demi-humans instead of humans? We are saints, compared to you monsters." That got Mirellia to harden her glare, anger rising within.

"Do not think that your kingdom is safe from prejudice as well! You wish for war, not peace, for your own ends! You show prejudice towards the other three Heroes! And must I mention that you enslave human children?! Little innocent children who have done no wrong!" Mirellia's words began to heat up, ending with her slamming the cage bars. "And now you plan to murder my youngest daughter, who is key to repairing our kingdoms' cycle of hatred and discrimination?!"

"Do not bring us down to your level!" Jaralis stepped up towards Mirellia, glaring and growling back. She could feel his hot breath on her, but she was not backing down. "We war, because you declared war against us first. We enslaved your kind, because you enslaved ours first. We show love and praise to the Shield God, because your Three Heroes have been nothing but enemies and slaughterers to our people. All we have done is respond in kind, due to _your people's _'cycle of hatred and discrimination'."

"Then you can break that cycle! My daughter can break that cycle! You must-!" Mirellia pleaded, her resolve breaking little by little, but Jaralis shook his head.

"We're not taking any chances with the next generation of the Melromarc royal line. Not after the World War. Not after _She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named._" Jaralis stepped back, taking a deep breath, before he left it as is, and began to walk away, leaving Mirellia to process what she had heard. It sounded like he was trying to ease his own fear, but Mirellia couldn't fault him. She knew who he was talking about, but she didn't want to believe it. All the history books demonized her, but from what Mirellia had experienced within Siltvelt, she knew that who they feared was the instigator of the World War, and the reason Siltvelt treats humans, even to this day.

In other words, they feared the rising of another Tyrantress.

**.o0o.**

Everybody settled back into their routine, as the sun was beginning to set. They all wanted sleep after the near-trauma they experienced. However, Naofumi's party was awake, in their own home, sitting next to a sleeping Étoile, bandages wrapped around her burns. Healing could only do so much, but with Naofumi as the **Alchemist** class and with some special herbs and tonics, they were able to get rid of most of the burns. Now, everybody lingered or sat inside, until Naofumi spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

Everybody else looked at him, confused on why he would say that. "What? What are you sorry for, Naofumi?" Ake wondered, until Naofumi looked at him directly in the eyes.

"I'm sorry. I should have sent more help to your end." Naofumi replied. "I thought that we were dealing with the main forces, but the sneak attack from behind flew over my head. I should have taken that into consideration…"

"Master, it's okay! You don't have to beat yourself up about it. Everybody made it out okay." Raphtalia comforted, but Naofumi shook his head.

"There's a difference between everybody making it out okay, and…" Naofumi pointed at Étoile, "everybody making it out 'okay'. I'll be more considerate next time. I promise."

"Naofumi, that's fine. You don't have to beat yourself up about it." Ake stood up and patted Naofumi on the back. "Everything has passed. And I'm grateful for you saving her."

The Shield Hero said nothing in return, but Raphtalia and Keel wanted to raise concerns. "Master… About the enemy we were fighting… We saw who was underneath the helmet." Keel spoke up.

"What about it? Is it important?" Naofumi asked, seeing the dread on their faces.

"They were… I… They looked like shriveled corpses… Like they haven't eaten… or slept…" Keel continued, the image of their ghastly visage haunting her. "But they just kept going… and from their eyes… they were suffering… suffering so much…!" Raphtalia only hugged her best friend tightly, comforting her as she bawled her eyes out. It wasn't so much because of pity, but because of guilt. Seeing the human slaves only made her see the point, but the corpses only drove that point home. It was sickening to a large degree… and she did give Naofumi some shit about demi-humans only suffering… It was only natural that she would feel this way.

"It's fine, Keel. Like Ake said," Naofumi began, "everything has passed over. Better now you learn and change than never, right?" His words brought a smile to her face, and she enthusiastically nodded.

"But..." Raphtalia wanted to voice her own concerns. "...Master Naofumi, I'm worried about the enemy. What if they constantly attack us...?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Raphie? We got Naofumi and all of us here!" Keel pointed to everybody, with Filo chirping up and agreeing. However, Naofumi had to disagree.

"She's right." The Shield Hero spoke up. "I wouldn't want to subject the citizens here with constant attacks... but it's not like we have a choice to migrate everybody. Plus, we can't stay here either, since Melromarc basically know that we're here." Everybody felt confounded on what to do, even Naofumi, but they can't help but agree. They need to continue adventuring or else they would become stale from routine, but the safety of the citizens and the town were their concern too. After a minute, Naofumi only shook his head. "Thinking about it now will get us nowhere. We can all figure it out once we get a good night's rest."

"Yes, my Lord... Let's go... sleep" Rino let out a huge yawn, before dozing off into Keel's arms.

"I'll take her to bed. Good night, master." Keel smiled, before holding onto her little sister and carried her off to the bed in another house.

"Phii~!" Filo chirped, before nuzzling Naofumi and plopping onto the side of the wall and closed her eyes. Naofumi only rolled his eyes and smiled, petting the big bird on her feathery head.

"I'll stay here. Let me keep an eye on her... please." Ake requested, and Naofumi raised an eyebrow.

"You know there isn't a second bed here, right?" Naofumi noted, with Ake looking at Étoile, then letting out a huge blush.

"N-No, that's not-!" Ake tried to deny, but Naofumi only chuckled lightly and pointed at Filo.

"Filo's feathers are a good substitute for. Maybe even an upgrade." The Shield Hero informed and began to walk off, Raphtalia following him. Ake only looked at the door Naofumi left from, then at Étoile, blushing a whole bunch.

"Well... I don't mind this at least..." He smiled, checked up on Étoile once more, then walked to Filo's feathers. The instant he laid down on them, his eyes closed, shocked by the feeling of soft downy feathers.

Outside, Naofumi and Raphtalia walked across the cliffside, with the house Keel and Rino were in just on the other side of the small town. On the way, Raphtalia noted on how beautiful the sunset was, with the wind blowing on their faces. "It's so beautiful..."

"Mmm..." Naofumi grunted, looking at the sunset as well. However, his mind was on a different subject.

"We should rest as well. Everybody has had a hard battle..."

"Mhmm..."

"Master Naofumi... do you think that... maybe we can...?" Raphtalia began in a bashful tone, her face lighting up. However, Naofumi was silent, but his mind was going all over the place ever since Keel had poured her guilt in front of the party, as if he was recollecting this to his past. It all felt so hauntingly connected. From what Keel has said, they were just brainwashed mindless zombies, just like _hers_. They never ate… they never slept… they simply worked and fought and marched and died… just like _hers_. They were just tools…

'_How did I not make that connection before…?'_

_...just like her magic. The Tyrantress's magic. Queen Malitecia's magic._

"Hey!" Raphtalia's voice made him jump a little. "Are you even paying attention, Master Naofumi?"

"Oh uhhhh... Yeah...! What do you wanna eat?" Naofumi fumbled with his words. That only got him a glare.

"Master! How could you?!" She pouted hard, and ran off towards the house, on the verge of crying.

"H-Hey!" Naofumi tried to reach for her, but he was too late, and she was out of reach. Sighing as she entered the house, the man just shook his head and watched the setting sun.

_'Goddammit... What should I do now, my love...?'_

**.o0o.**

"Help us!"

"Let us out!"

"Where are they taking us...?

Carriages carrying multiple people were being driven towards Melromarc castle. Even a group of people, surrounded and chained by a group of Church knights, were afraid, and being forced along towards the castle. They heard the rumours, from merchants and passerby alike, that Melromarc has become a 'radical religious' kingdom, and should be 'avoided at all costs'. However, what they didn't count was taking them right in the worst possible times. The people, now led and trapped in the arena of the stadium, were all murmuring in fear, scared for their lives, before an esteemed figure came to them from the throne.

"H-Hey, isn't that a pope?"

"I heard of him! He's the High Priest of the Church of the Three Heroes!"

"I don't like this..."

The Pope looked at the population with his usual smile. From what the shadows have told him, these were all the citizens, governors, thugs and military figures from the northern territories. Many of them were in rags, while a chosen few were in high-quality clothing. One of them, a man dressed in a red lord's suit, ran up closer towards the Pope.

"Oh, your Eminence!" The man bowed his head rather clumsily. "You have come to rescue us from our plight of poverty! Please, you must help me!" He pleaded, with many of the citizens looked slack-jawed from the words he said.

"The nerve of this noble!" One of the thugs growled out, then whipped his head towards the High Priest. "Your Holiness! Do not listen to the lies of Lord Ivyred! He demands high amounts of money as a toll and tax his people heavily! He deserves no help at all!" This began to devolve into an argument with Lord Ivyred and a few nobles against the many commoners, close to turning into a one-sided fist fight. However, a single tap from the Pope's glowing staff stopped their arguments.

"Enough. All of your pleas have been heard." Pope Balmus calmly told them. "Lord Ivyred. You said that you require money. Is that right?"

"Yes! Yes, I do! We must have it... for f-food and...!"

"That's quite enough." Balmus stopped him mid-plea. "The Lord is merciful to your words. All is delivered through the mercy of His Will."

"Ohhhh thank you thank you thaaaank you!" Ivyred bowed his head happily, while many of the commoners scoffed at his greed. They only know that he wants money... purely for the fact that he could hoard it himself. Before they could let their denials be heard, the High Priest continued.

"However..." Balmus interjected, more information ready to be announced. "The Lord isn't happy that you have been submitting yourself to avarice." That caught the governor off-guard.

"W-Wha-? No, I-I-I-I-!" Lord Ivyred knew he was caught. Looking left and right for a way out of the situation, the cowardly man trembled.

"It seems God was right. Not only have you been stealing money and bribing others to harm innocent commoners and lords alike, but you even drove your daughter away. How... sinful." The Pope took every great care to drawl out the words. The governor only cried in panic and fear, unable to make coherent words. Of course, that wasn't the full truth. The green-haired daughter was kidnapped by the Church's Shadows, in order to get leverage over the governor to pay his dues to get his daughter back. Hence, why he was hoarding money in the first place.

But the ignorant masses do not know that. "Therefore, you shall be judged. By the eyes of God shall he deliver his will unto your very soul!" The High Priest pulls out a dusty tome from within his cloak and waves his staff, channeling mana directly in front of him.

"What's he going to do?"

"Is he blessing him or punishing him?"

"This is taking too long...!" Many of the commoners murmured among each other, but were surprised as a pillar of light covered Lord Ivyred entirely. The greedy governor screamed, unable to flail his arms, before his screams ceased midway through. The light then dissipated, and Ivyred only was kneeling on his legs. No scratch, no burn, no bruise, nothing.

"Rise, Lord Ivyred, and take up a sword." The Pope's words sounded more sinister now, as the man simply stood up and turned around, facing the citizens. His eyes were glowing golden, with no life behind the eyes.

"**Yes, my God...**" Ivyred's voice sounded dead, even more dead than a corpse. Many people screamed in terror at the sight of the brainwashed lord as the knights and Lord Ivyred blocked them off from escaping. Their cries and complaints of panic did not deter Pope Balmus, as he raised his staff and tome once again.

"Do not fret, just gaze deep unto the mercy of God himself!" The tome suddenly glowed a crimson light, enveloping the citizens into Balmus's thrall. Many of the panic began to die immediately, as their minds were wiped, and their bodies standing straight like a soldier. "Now, go, and gather me more of God's followers." The Pope commanded, and the newly made thralls saluted, walking off to get armoured up and march, intent on fulfilling their God's wishes and demands. The High Priest only smiled wider in satisfaction, as he closed the tome into his hand.

"Yes... This will prove to be the Shield Hero's downfall. For no one can match the rite for immortality and godhood as I am." Balmus monologues to himself, smiling his usual benevolent smile, as he gazed onto the tome's cover. "After all, you were the first to reach godhood yourself, hasn't it, your Majesty?" His old fingers touched the grooves of the book cover, as it read the words:

_The Forbidden Spell of Soul Tempering_

_\- by Malitecia G. Melromarc, XXVIII'th Queen and Matriarch of the Kingdom of Melromarc_

* * *

**So we finally get a name and more forwarding the plot rather than using flashbacks to tell a story. What do you guys think?**

**Yes, Time Mage is the new job! Now some would say that it's too similar to another great spoiler-heavy character, but it's actually not. This one influences time, but cannot reverse it, nor can he jump into multiple time lines. Time Mages specialize in time and space, using gravity magicks, speed-based spells and comets. Just like any mage, they cannot take hits, but they fare a little better than Cleric or Magus. **

**Yes, there are two more jobs, and only one of them is chosen. The other, however, you guys can vote! Tell me in the reviews what job you want! We already gotten a Fencer, Cleric, Magus, Occultist, Summoner, Time Mage, Machinist and Holy Knight, just saying these so that way there are no repeats!**

**Yes, tempering from Final Fantasy 14 is here. If you guys do not know, it is more than just brainwashing. It is enthralling and enforcing your own will into the hearts of others, eroding their souls and willpower until they become single-minded worshippers. Regular citizens can refuse this, but those who are blessed with the Vassal Weapons, those who have special equips or Legendary Cardinal Weapons can largely ignore it. However, with Naofumi busting up the Shield, many of the magicks protecting the Cardinal Weapon wielders have either drained away or is largely weakened. The only way to break out is to have a will stronger than the one enthralling.**

**Yes, Ivyred is here. Basically, just to canonize how Rishia got into Ishiki's party since Ishiki never killed the governor Robin Hood style.**

**Alright guys! Enjoy reading! Leave a favourite, follow and post a review! This fic LIVES on reviews! Thanks!**


	30. Chapter 30: Pride and Preparations

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero. Just the OCs.**

* * *

_Kidnapped and put on trial. That was where I was held up within the chambers of Melromarc. Thanks to the Spear Hero, we were ransacked of nearly all of our things, and captured in chains and cages against our will, with humans screaming death and hatred towards us. I knew, because there were no humans and, as the Siltveltians said, the kingdom was run by an evil matriarch who doubles as a witch. And I was cuffed and kneeling in front of her… and by the Gods, she was a massive bitch. Like, a humongous **BITCH **_

_Demanding respect, holding me on trumped up charges (assaulting the Spear Hero and stealing their prize money, like seriously?) and parading herself like her shit doesn't stink. However, the problem was that she had power to back it up, as she demonstrated with my party members, who were chained up by enchanted metals that prevented escape. And torture they have done to me and them. I've never heard Kelga cry for the longest time. Even the stoic Kiara was nearly broken by them._

_And to put on a show for her vanity, she decided to execute us. And she was thorough too, with kill switches on our collars in case we escape… I closed my eyes, scared of awaiting my end. To die a pathetic death… Only to be saved by the most unlikeliest of sources._

_By a human._

_\- Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 9.3_

* * *

Deep within the forests, where the moonlight is hidden in the sky due to the foliage, a lone girl holding a young man over her back continued to trudge. Her legs felt like they were burning up, her weakened muscles unable to carry the young man on her back any farther. Yet still she persists, her mind not just urging her to, but forcing her to, carrying him to God-knows-where. Where exactly? She doesn't know.

"Fueehh... Lord… Itsuki…" The green-haired maiden felt like she was at the end of her rope. She hasn't eaten in a long time, nor has she slept or drank too. It felt like she was close to the end of her rope, but an unknown power was keeping her alive… for some reason. All it told her… was to fight. Yet the other side of her mind is telling her to save Itsuki. Her mind was ping-ponging between the two mindsets, but they are both involved in helping the Bow Hero fulfill his duty… and yet Itsuki was all but conscious to even do anything. And without any sense of direction, she just shut her mind off… unaware of anything around her… and kept walking.

Her quaking legs finally gave way as she fell onto the grass, the Bow Hero's body falling beside her. Her will was spent. She couldn't move anymore… and that only made her feel even more useless than ever. _'Why… why… why am I so… useless…? I can't even… help save the Bow Hero…'_ She didn't even have the energy to shake the harmful thoughts out of her head.

'_She is no daughter of mine… She is only a liability to the city. If she isn't working, then she isn't valuable!'_

'_What? Are you saying that I should, what you call it… 'harness her talents'? She has NONE!'_

'_As long as you're here, you're never leaving! You'll always be a slave, no matter what!'_

'_Fueehh…' _Her own father's words… they continued to ring in her mind more and more. And each one was like a knife right through her heart. It was no wonder that the Church bought her from her greedy father… at least, that was what they told her. She wasn't surprised at all.

Her hope was fading. Her energy was fading. But she continued to persist, despite her weak body, and her slow weakening mind. Crawling towards the young man once more, she vowed that she would continue until she found help to heal the Bow Hero and then…

… and then… and then what? Kill the Shield Devil? Call for reinforcements? Return to the capital? Her rationality and the commandments within her head. Perhaps… as long as she continues to march, with the Bow Hero on her back, then she'll get her answer.

Suddenly, she felt a hard boot hit her on her side. The young woman yelped painfully and was thrown onto the grass, as a boisterous and malicious laugh echoed behind her.

"Hah! It serves you right, trash, for being in my way!" A burly commander dressed in armour chortled at the pain he inflicted. It was a long time ever since he harmed any wenches, so it was quite cathartic for him. Behind him was his own militia of troops, all of them standing in attendance behind him.

"Lord Rabier, sir. Don't you think you should be heading back to your Lord Father?" One of the knights in attendance asked in a polite tone, only to be given a glare of anger.

"Don't mention my father's name again, recruit. I can kill you here and now if that's what you wish." The nobleman of the Rabier house snarled at the knight, who stepped back and bowed his head.

"Y-Yes, my Lord…!"

"NOT my Lord! Lord _Cross_! Got that?!"

"Y-YES, LORD CROSS…!" The young knight was close to crying, as he saluted and went to the back of the militia line. Cross scoffed at the recruit, before turning back to the young maiden, while the other knights only sighed inwardly. They knew of Cross's behaviour, and how he became even more unstable than before, ever since he was booted out of the knight academy and brought shame to the family name. Idol, for once, did the smart thing and punished his son rather harshly for his actions, by stripping his status and name as a nobleman. Additionally, if he wanted the family name back, he would have to do the actual knight training and exercises. Without skipping out on them or using his status to intimidate or bribe his way out. Essentially, doing the full nine yards, no skipping whatsoever.

However, that only served to not break him, but instead, Cross hardened his ways and became even crueler and unstable. He became more ruthless and dishonourable in his ways of fighting, like using demeaning words, illegal moves during the duel, and sometimes outright threatening to shed blood if they win. His malicious and sadistic demeanour not only reached the demi-human slaves, but even to the human workers, servants and even outsiders who were weaker than him. Before, he would be a cruel man who only cared about the status of House Rabier, but now, thanks to the punishment his father gave him, he only found resentment in the name and instead decided to be more than a Rabier; to usurp it.

Baby steps first however, and Cross had to show that he was going to be the man on top. Grabbing the young woman's collar, he rose her into the air, his smile getting even wider. "You are a fool to be wandering in _my_ territory, with a deceased nobody on your back."

"G-Grk…! Ggh…!" The green-haired maiden trembled and struggled to get loose, but his grip was too strong. Plus, the man was the size of a bear to her. What hope does she have? However, anger rose within her after hearing Cross insult Itsuki like that. It was all she had left. "Fuehh...! How… dare you… insult… Lord… Itsuki…!"

"What? This dead lump? He's just a little shrimp!" Cross turned his head and kicked the unresponsive Itsuki, getting no response back. His limp body simply laid on his back, staring blankly into the sky. "A good-for-nothing, weak-minded shrimp! Just like that weak drop-out and that demi-human Seaetto whore in the Knight Academy! All of them! I'll stomp them out when I see them again!" The knight ranted continuously, still gripping on the green-haired maiden. Many of the militia only sighed, seeing him going in his angry rant about what has already happened due to his actions. But Cross was going to prove his point, as he stomped towards the comatose Itsuki and raised his big boot above his head.

"Fuehh…! N-No…! D-Don't…!" The young woman cried out, her energy close to spent, but Cross only laughed maniacally at her despair.

"Oh yes! Watch as your so-called Lord becomes paste under my boot!" Cross stomped hard onto the body, and the young woman closed her eyes, fainting, her body shutting off from the outcome…

...only to hear no bone cracking.

"H-Huh?" Cross looked befuddled. Where was the crack? There was supposed to be a bone-crushing crack! Looking down, he realized that he only hit soft mud. "W-Where did that shrimp go? Did I miss? Or was I imagining it?" He got his answer, an arrow drawn on a bow by a young man staring deep in his soul. A young man he recognized, with his bow glowing under the darkness, his eyes glowing gold, much like a phantom. The words he spoke… were the last things Cross heard before the arrow let loose.

**["Curse Series: Pride" met and unlocked]**

"**I am not a shrimp."**

There wasn't even a scream. Only complete silence in the night.

**.o0o.**

The morning sun slowly rose over the grassy plains, the morning light shining and warming the land. The sky blue hues up above glistened brilliantly with clouds floating by, with not a care in the world. Soon, the world's citizens began their daily routines as they rose from their slumber. But one incident will break that monotony.

"_**AKE ROOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFE!**_"

That got everybody's attention, as the door opened up suddenly, with Naofumi, Raphtalia, Keel and Rino all looking inside with alarm on their face. A few other townsfolk, Mayor Rolfe being one of them, peeping in… and suddenly nearly everybody was slack-jawed and wide-eyed at the sight.

"Mmm… H-Huh…?" Ake roused himself away, looking left and right drowsily, before noticing two feet, long bandaged legs and an enraged face looking at him. "É-Étoile? You're awake!"

"_**YES I AM, AND MIND IF I ASK-?!**_" Étoile, with her glowing eyes of rage, began to ask incriminally, but Ake, possibly out of being unaware of her rage, stood up and hugged her. "**E-Eh**… **huh**?!" That actually made her brain stop and short-circuit a little, considering that the man she was with for the longest time was… actually hugging her.

"Oh Étoile…!" Ake blabbered, both in relief and in tears, happiness radiating from his smile, something that Étoile couldn't help resisting, making her forget why exactly she was mad at him in the first place. Her enraged black aura and glowing red eyes dissipated, only to fall into a state of shock at what was happening. Ake, the man she has grown to respect… was hugging her out of worry. Her face blew up in an atomic blush, steam coming out of her cat ears, as she was stuttering on what to say. "You wouldn't believe just how worried I was when I saw you charge into that blast! I'm so glad that you're alright! I wouldn't know what to do if I saw someone I love get hurt like that…!" He continued to blather on and on, his words jumbling up as the tears rolled. However, one word stood out to Étoile, one that echoed and resonated inside.

"W-Wha-?! L-L-Love?" She repeated in a gasp, her jaw dropping, her blush intensifying, as she looked at Ake with wide eyes. In truth, she harboured quite a lot of feelings for the boyish knight, way back when they first got a proper introduction in the Academy, rescuing him from those bullies years ago. She found him…innocent, like someone she just needed to protecc, but to think that _he_ would take the initiation... "I'm… someone you love…?"

"E-Ehh? I-I… W-Well…" Ake stammered, accidentally pulling away from Étoile, who didn't mind being in Ake's embrace. Realizing that he probably spoke too much, he clammed up and meekly nodded after some time. To Étoile, this confirms it. If she was any more shocked, this would have made her faint, possibly out of happiness. However, before the atmosphere could be more awkward, a small yawn made their heads turn.

"Hwaaaaah…!" What they saw was a young blonde girl, naked like the day children were born. Her eyes glistened sapphire as she yawned and stretched her arms in a rather child-like manner. Her appearance was so sudden, as she stood up and smiled, one as bright as the sunshine. Instantly, Ake nearly screamed, and recoiled backwards, while Étoile just exploded in a menacing aura, nearly drowning Ake in her righteous anger, as she slowly turned around in a manner of dread.

"_**So… first you say that you love me… but now you double-cross me by sleeping with a child…? Have you no shame…?**_" Étoile's low voice, compared to her shouts from before, is at least a hundred times more ominous and threatening. Ake stepped back, primordial fear rushing deep inside him. The forgotten anger and reason for it came back at full force and then some, as the demi-human grabbed his shoulders tightly, making him unable to escape. He couldn't even form coherent sentences to defend himself. But all that took a turn when the little girl smiled and hugged her naked form on his waist.

"Good morning, Big Brother Ake!" She cheerfully and innocently greeted the unfortunate man. "You felt so nice on me when you were sleeping on me~!" Oh, it did take a turn… for the worst, that is.

Ake could nearly feel his own soul leave his body at those words, as the menacing aura from Étoile increased a hundredfold. However, the fun and dread ended there as a clap caught the three's attention.

"Quite the drama we're experiencing here." The clap and the voice came from the door. The pale Ake, the enraged Étoile and the child noticed that Naofumi, giving a small smirk, was the one who stopped them; and it wasn't just him that was looking inside.

"A-Ake! W-Who the heck is she?" Raphtalia demanded, genuinely shocked at the naked newcomer and mortified at her scenario in front of her, and her imagination running rampant on what exactly happened.

"No way… is this the ritual you were talking about, Big Sis Étoile?" Keel had her jaw dropped all the way to the floor. Days ago, she remembered talking to Étoile about a certain 'ritual' that demi-humans do with the ones that they love during a secret meeting. Was this the ritual that she was talking about?

"Huh? Mating ritual? What's going on here…?" Rino asked, popping behind Naofumi's back to get a look. She was genuinely confused about what the three of them were talking about, but Naofumi covered her eyes with his hand.

"You'll know when you're older." Naofumi remarked, amused at the situation, as many other citizens were peeking in and adding in their comments.

"I don't know if I should be proud or disappointed, son…" Mayor Rolfe shook his head.

"H-He was gonna bag the Captain? I'm so jealous…! But… who's the angel girl?" One of the rebel soldiers asked another, and they could only shrug.

"Mama, why is that girl naked? Is she preparing for a bath?"

"O-Oh dear… The mayor's son is… into that?"

"Okay. I think that's enough gossip." Naofumi stopped any and all remarks on the embarrassed Ake and Étoile. He then spotted the naked little angel girl who smiled wide, and ran to Naofumi.

"Good morning, Master! Do you have any food?" She greeted, jumped onto Naofumi's torso and hugged him affectionately, making everybody gasp in shock. To Raphtalia and Keel, that earned the little girl some spicy glares. However, the Shield Hero didn't even flinch from the sudden tackle hug and shook his head.

"That's enough, Filo. Transform back and I'll give you something to eat." Naofumi requested, almost as if he knew her. Many eyebrows were raised, until the girl nodded. Suddenly, an explosion of smoke erupted on the pair, then a cry of pain and surprise from Naofumi along with a crash on the floor were heard. As the smoke cleared, there stood the proud filolial queen Filo, puffing her chest out happily, feathers and all.

"H-Huh?!" That was the expression and the question that everybody else had on their minds. Étoile and Ake looked gobsmacked, seeing that the young girl was indeed their fellow filolial queen, while Raphtalia, Rino and Keel went bug-eyed at the discovery. The rest of the onlookers couldn't even believe their eyes.

"W-Wait… Filo? You could transform?" Keel inquired, her head still trying to make sense of all of this.

"Heehee~! Of course!" Filo, in the same sweet innocent voice she had in her human form, replied, cheerfully flapping her wings. However, she felt a few bumps underneath, along with a muffled angry voice underneath.

"Mmmmph!" MMMMMMMPH!" It cried out.

"U-Uhh, Filo, I think you should get off of Naofumi…!" Ake urged worryingly. Filo tilted her head, until she gasped and moved backwards, knocking a couple of furniture over, until revealing Naofumi. On the floor, his face filled with filolial feathers.

"Ah! Master Naofumi~! What are you doing down there?" Filo asked, unaware that she, a bipedal filolial queen that probably weighs a literal ton, was on top of Naofumi for a good two minutes. The Shield Hero in question, slowly sat up, shook off the feathers and glared back.

"Don't transform when you are clinging onto me next time!" He scolds the filolial. When the bird was about to ask why, Naofumi shot her a death glare, which made her shut up. After Raphtalia and Keel helped him up, the Shield Hero only breathed a sigh of exasperation and looked at all the other villagers within Iwatani. "Right. Nothing to see here. Move along."

"E-Err, Shield Savior, would now be the right time to ask something important?" Mayor Rolfe inquired, his eyes darting to his left.

"Sure. What is it?" Naofumi walked outside, along with his other party members. It took a bit of effort to squeeze Filo out, since she looked to have gotten bigger last night due to her transformation, but the big bird did get out, along with the reconciling Ake and Étoile. However, what caught their attention were the tall, garrisoning walls around the town. The stone bricks were expertly made, held together by planked reinforcing wood and nails. A few windows even adorned the walls.

There was even a wooden gate at the front, for the guests who want in, or the citizens who want out. A couple of climbable towers were built between the gate, standing tall and proud, for those who wish to get a good look at the surrounding area. Everybody was amazed by the stone structures' appearance, but furthermore, they wondered where it came from… until their eyes drew to Naofumi.

"...What?" The man only looked around, with all eyes on him. Giving a sigh, he only scratched his head. "I couldn't sleep, alright?"

The other citizens just seemed to accept it, while asking the hero to get some sleep. However, his party thought differently. Was it because of yesterday? Did he still blame himself because of those events? Étoile was fine now, so what was keeping him up? Nobody had an answer.

**.o0o.**

The sounds of the wind blowing through the trees were of comfort to hear, as if the forest itself was whispering its sweet nothings. The warm breeze, filled with pine and a hint of sea salt, filled the nose of the unconscious young girl as she woke up in the morning. Her body was still reeling in the pain and hunger, but at least she got some well-needed sleep. While it didn't make her feel anew, at least it didn't make her feel sick and woozy.

However, her re-energized brain had flashes of what happened yesterday night, and her eyes darted left and right. Much to her horror, she saw the same knights that ventured towards her, along with the same knight commander that held her by the collar and stomped her Lord.

"F-Fueeeehhhhh!" She cried out her signature noise in panic, remembering that same knight ('Cross, was it?' The maiden thought to herself) who was about to stomp the brains out of the Bow Hero. So then… Why are they acting so calm and emotionless? "H-Huh…? What are you all…?"

"**I have returned."** The commanding voice made the knights bow their heads, a voice the green-haired girl knew. Even Cross himself bowed his head, as if humility was beaten down his throat. The sound of rustling grass was heard behind her, and she whipped her head to see the person she wanted to see.

"L-Lord Itsuki! You're oka-! Ahhhh!" The girl felt happiness spring from her chest, but as soon she tried to stand up, she was only met with pain in her gut as she fell onto the grass again. The kick from last night hasn't healed yet. The Bow Hero didn't react to her pain, but instead to snap his fingers.

"My Lord! Use me." One of the knights ran up and knelt down, despite their allegiances. The green-haired girl widened her eyes in surprise. Since when did these knights, who wanted nothing more than to kill the two of them, change their minds? The Bow Hero nodded silently, and then drew his bow. Instead of appearing in a white light, it came out in a golden hue, much like the sun.

"**Offering." **He fired what looks like a green arrow right in the heart of the knight. The target of the arrow only grunted, before slumping into a corpse.

"F-Fuehhhhh?! Y-You-!"

"**Be still."** Itsuki's voice was soft yet assertive, and it immediately had an effect on her. He put his hand on top of her head, who unconsciously nuzzled into it, and suddenly, she felt life pouring into her body. A green energy was being sapped from the dead knight and transferred onto the young girl. Suddenly, her hunger and thirst is gone. The aching pain disappeared. She felt like a new person, and it was all thanks to him.

"Y-You… you saved me…" She spoke in disbelief, a big smile spreading at the sight of Itsuki. Now that her pain is gone, she got a good look at him… and he looked different than before. He still had his usual attire of a brown archer's garment, **Legendary Bow** in one hand, and the metal paldron on his left shoulder. However, what stood out more was his cloak. It was more like a hood and a cape now, flowing a majestic green along the wind, with golden embroidery on its edges. The symbol of a golden bow, acting like a pair of scales of judgement was glowing on the cloak. It made him look more like a Hero than ever before, she thought to herself, but one question remains. "But why?" She asked in disbelief, however Itsuki asked her a question in return.

"**What is your name?"**

"M-Me? Fuehh… It's Rishia." The green-haired Rishia replied, and Itsuki only nodded back to her.

"**My pride wouldn't allow it."**

Those words confused the poor girl. Did he do it for her? Or did he do it for himself? Nevertheless, she was incredibly grateful, so much so that she bowed her head.

"H-How… how can I repay you, Lord Itsuki?" She asked, only to hear the sound of bow string being stretched. Looking up, all she saw was the point of a glowing arrow, aimed straight at her head.

"**You serve me."** Itsuki simply stated, and fired. The girl flinched and the arrow fired… and yet she felt no pain. The lingering thoughts and commands of serving the 'one true God' faded away, and instead, she felt her own will submitting to Itsuki, the Bow Hero alone. Tears fell from her eyes as she finally was given a worthy purpose of her own; one where she wasn't treated like trash.

"Fuehh! Thank you… Lord Itsuki!" Rishia bowed her head once more, with the rest of the knights following her actions.

"THANK YOU, LORD ITSUKI! Where you walk, we shall follow!" They saluted and bowed their heads. Itsuki nodded, then turned his attention to another direction towards the forest, and began to march, one thought lingering in his mind.

'_**I won't let anyone stand in the way of justice… not even you, Naofumi. I'm coming to you first!'**_

**.o0o.**

Some time has passed since the morning affairs, and Naofumi was definitely bone tired. He never felt this way before, ever since last night after the fête celebrating the clearance of the Second Wave of Calamity. But now, he felt things weighing down his shoulders, as he laid in bed. It has been that way ever since last night.

Building the wall didn't help. He only did it as a distraction, and yet it was so easy yet time consuming. His crafting skills did not lower in the slightest ever since being in that desert prison. Teaching the townspeople how to use the weaponry and the machinations of the gate did nothing either. Not even making new clothes for Filo did enough to help him get rid of that weight.

**.o0o.**

"_Master… does Flio have to do all that yarn?" Filo complained, looking at the large spool. She knew that there was no way she could be doing all this for the next unknown amount of hours. Hell, it might even be days before she could complete her magic clothes._

"_You have to do it, Filo. Nobody wants to see a naked filolial girl." Naofumi scolded, hoping to get the hardest part of raising a filolial queen, who can transform into a young innocent girl, out of the way. Gripping the yarn, she started to spin the weaver's wheel slowly, her own mana injected into the special yarn Naofumi tailor-made. _

"_Uwaaah… It's so slow..." Filo whined, yawning in the process. "How long is this gonna take…?"_

"_As soon as you stop complaining, it will go faster, Filo." Naofumi responded, much like a stern parent towards their child._

"_But I'm hungry…"_

"_No food until you finish."_

"_Am I finished yet?"_

"_No."_

"_How about now?"_

"_No."_

"_Now?"_

"_No!"_

"_Now?"_

"_No!"_

"_Now?"_

"_NO!"_

"_Now?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Really?!"_

"_NO!"_

"_Grr…" The young child pouted, glaring at her master. "But…!"_

"_Don't let go of the string, or else you're doing it again." Naofumi warned, pointing at her own hand. After all the seconds she has wasted on making her clothes, she didn't want to endure it a second time._

"_B-But no other filolial has to wear clothes…" Naofumi sighed at her own logic. Then again, she was only born fifteen days ago._

"_Well, have you seen any filolials without their feathers?"_

"_N-No… Why?"_

"_Humans without clothes are like filolials without their colourful, soft feathers. Naked, and disgusting."_

"_B-But I'm not a human."_

"_You can transform into one, Filo. So you have to wear clothes."_

"_Ugghhh…" She couldn't find any excuse out of that one. But she was right. It was going to be excruciatingly long. Naofumi considered leaving her to do his own thing… until an idea popped in his head._

'_Of course! Why didn't I think of that?' He thought to himself, as he pulled out his trusty stick and shifted to his __**Time Mage**__ job._

**Naofumi Iwatani; Time Mage Lv 40**

_**Time for the kings to bow!**_

**[Rebel Captain] All party allies and alliance members, which is anybody under your command in separate parties, deal 40% more damage. All rebel knights and traitors will follow your every command.**

**HP: 3800**

**MP: 7000**

**Attack: 25**

**Defense: 40**

**Speed: 160**

**STR: 30**

**VIT: 50**

**DEX: 150**

**INT: 180**

**WIS: 180**

**LUK: 145**

"_Eh? Master?" Filo began, inquisitive on what Naofumi was doing, as she spun the wheel. Waving his wand, Naofumi began his incantation, as time mana began to be visible around his hands._

"_**Hither and yonder, flit and fly! Mark well time's passage swift and sure! Haste!"**_

_A golden clock with two hands appeared over Filo's head, as a glowing aura surrounded her. The clock sped up more and more until it disappeared into Filo's body. The young girl didn't know what happened, but her hands felt like it just got a rush of sugar. "Finish weaving your clothes, Filo. That's an order." Naofumi told her, with no room for argument. While she pouted, once she began to spin, her movements felt more fluid and faster. Seeing that her master gave her a speed boost, she wasted no time, and spun faster and faster. What was once an eight-hour long job was then shortened to eight minutes._

**.o0o.**

Naofumi smiled at that memory. It was like he was teaching a child…

Teaching a child…

Teaching… his _own_ child...

His mind lingered back to when it all began. The life he was forced to leave due to the other Three Heroes. His own wife, smiling at him, as he hugged her from behind, rubbing her pregnant belly. It felt like yesterday, yet it was so long ago. He would tell her that it was the happiest moment of his life, after all the wars and battles he fought, after all the lives that were lost. She would tell him that every moment she spent with him was the happiest moment of her life.

The days where they spent in the town they have made by their own two hands, other than Iwatani, were of peace. Making a farm, inviting other friends and strangers into their land to cultivate and prosper. The nights where they simply spent their precious time together, like making names for their child, betting whether or not their child is a boy or a girl, or building a child's playroom filled with toys and colourful walls much akin to a nursery….

'_And it was gone in a night…'_

Digging into his pockets, Naofumi pulled out an old photo. It was the sight of his old friends, sitting together around the campfire… All of them were smiling and happily sharing the times and events that happened. He still remembered their lines and banter… one of the last few that they shared before the World War began…

Flipping the photo around, another photo was depicted. Instead of a group, it only depicted two, and he smiled at the memories he bore with the woman in the photo. Her image made the century-old man smile, as his hand tenderly touched the old ink. "My love… If only you are here to witness this town born anew… But should we continue our adventure…? Or stay here…? If you were here, you would know the answer..." Naofumi muttered, until he looked to the left, beside him. "Unveil yourself, Raphtalia."

The sound of a surprised grunt and a shuffle that knocked a chair over unveiled Raphtalia, looking sheepish as ever. It didn't surprise Naofumi that she would check up on him, but doing it under the guise of **Hide Mirage**? Was she checking up on him or spying on him? "M-Master Naofumi…? How did you-?"

"You should stop breathing with your mouth if you plan to hide like that."

Raphtalia had the decency to look sheepish, before changing the conversation. "Are you okay?"

Naofumi could see how guilty she was, even though she had done nothing wrong. "Everything's fine, Raphtalia. Just… reminiscing." He was about to put the photo away, until Raphtalia injected her own curiosity.

"Master, what is that?" Raphtalia asked, looking at the photo as if she has never seen it before.

"A photograph. Have you ever seen one before?" Naofumi answered, then countered it with his own question, raising the old thing so Raphtalia could have a good look.

"No I haven't, but... Wow... It's a little smudged, but… is that you?" Raphtalia looked so entranced by the photograph, she snatched it away from Naofumi.

"H-Hey! Ask next time!" Her master angrily scolded her, but she didn't pay attention. Instead she was drawn to the various demi-humans that were around him.

"Wow… Who are they? Were they your friends?" She inquired, and Naofumi, seeing that she was too busy handing the photo and asking questions, simply nodded in defeat.

"Yes… They were my party. More than a century ago…" He explained, with the raccoon girl listening in. "We were tightly knit, as I understood them, just as much as they understood me. Back then, Siltveltians only wanted to join me simply due to the fact that they… want my genes to help bolster their bloodline."

"Bolster their bloodline with your… jeans? How does that work, Master?" Raphtalia innocently asked, making Naofumi get a cold sweat behind his neck. He forgot that Raphtalia, despite looking like an adult, was actually just age 10. He remembered that a drunk Étoile talked with Raphtalia and Keel about the machinations of the adult body, and she spared no detail about it.

'_I still remember those screams of embarrassment. Made meal time so damn awkward...'_ Naofumi thought to himself in a deadpanned voice, before shifting back to Raphtalia. "Think of what Étoile told you a few nights ago. But instead of love, they do it for power."

"O-Oh…" Raphtalia blushed red thinking about it. She would never have known the process of making a baby would involve… more than just kissing. However, seeing Naofumi looking away from that subject made her drop it. "So… why don't you tell me about them?"

"Just a little bit." Naofumi obliged with a smile, and showed her the photo, starting from left to right. "This is a pheasant demi-human bard Akoner. He's the proud owner of the title 'Pain in the rear'."

"Pain…? In the rear?"

"Because he's a pain in the rear."

"O-Oh." He certainly looks that way, Raphtalia thought. She could see the playfulness in his demeanour, how his hands were patting on photo-Naofumi's back.

"He's a smart talker, saying quips that would rile us up in laughter and happiness. Although, he was always acting jealous about my status. But through thick and thin, he would have my back any day." Naofumi concluded before going to the next, a demi-human with white tiger ears, strong and fit, yet someone who was having fun around the campfire. "This one is the demi-human princess Kiara."

"Kiara? You mean the Warrior Queen Kiara of Siltvelt? She looks beautiful in this photo." Raphtalia was in awe of her beauty. "I remember that Mom and Dad would talk about her legends with the Shield Hero… She looks strong and beautiful, just like the legends."

"Heh. I can agree with that." Naofumi chuckled a little, before moving on, to a bipedal turtle holding onto a metal jeweled staff, also patting the Shield Hero in the photo on the back jovially. "The turtle beastman here is Ghido."

"Wow… he looks wise."

"No he's not. He's also a 'Pain in the rear', just not as much as Akoner. But he's someone I trust wholeheartedly, who's been with me through thick and thin, all the way… until… his untimely death..." Naofumi looked away, as if he was holding something back. Raphtalia broke away from the photograph and looked at Naofumi worryingly.

"Master...I'm sorry..." She comforted, her hand tenderly touching his cheek, but Naofumi shook it off.

"It's fine. It couldn't be helped." He smiled back, leaving her more worried, but if he said that he was okay, then he was probably okay. Looking back, he then talked about the next one in the photo, a lupin demi-human girl jumping about in the photo. "This young one is Kelga."

"A lupin demi-human? She looks kind of like Keel when we were still kids." She pointed out, and Naofumi nodded.

"She suffered from a special condition, where she didn't age or mature properly. Despite being an archer, she never grew up to be an adult, no matter how many levels she earned." Naofumi informed Raphtalia. "But that didn't stop her. She helped us on so many occasions… and was also a joy to have."

"Heehee~, it seems you're good with children, Master Naofumi." Raphtalia teased with a giggle, with Naofumi only rolling his eyes. The raccoon girl then continued down the list, then spotting a young blue-haired girl wearing a gown, and wings on her back, and sleeping on the Shield Hero's lap in the photo. "Is she another child too, Master?"

"N-No. This was my filolial companion, Fitoria, named after a fallen comrade of mine." Naofumi explained. "She was quite a handful, but not really that different from Filo. Definitely more possessive, now that I think about it."

"Filo…? Wait, she's just like Filo, right?" Raphtalia was startled at the connection. Did Naofumi have experience handling filolial girls? Is that why her master was so assertive to Filo in the beginning?

"Yep. Both of them are filolial queens. So I have experience ruffling their feathers." Naofumi said to her, before moving on to a familiar black-haired woman, leaning on her trident and smiling at the antics. "You should know this one." That prompted a gasp from Raphtalia's end.

"T-That's Big Sis Sadina!" Raphtalia exclaimed, admiring what she looked like before. "She looks just as beautiful as before…"

"That's eternal youth for you. She was more reserved before, if you can believe that." Naofumi remembered how much trouble she used to give him, but also how much of a dear friend she had become to him when she turned over to his side. Not just as a slave, but as a friend. "And that's it. How was-?"

"W-Wait, what about behind the photograph?" Naofumi froze, as the raccoon woman turned the photo around… to see a sight that would haunt her for days. It showed a smiling man with emerald eyes, showing a goofy, toothy smile and a mop of black hair on his head. He was hugging a woman from behind, who was gently smiling in the photograph. She had what seemed to be white hair with very prominent scarlet highlights cascading nearly down her back. A brown and purple maternity dress was wrapped around her body, with a loving motherly smile adorning her fair skinned face. But what REALLY caught her attention… was the big baby bump on her belly… with this mysterious woman's and the man's hands on it, caressing it lovingly. What was once simple curiosity, now came a feeling of dread, betrayal, shame and sadness rising up from within. It felt like poison rising up from within her system, the longer she stared at it. Before she could look at it even further, Naofumi swiped the photo back in his hands.

"Raphtalia, why did you…?" Naofumi stopped himself, spotting Raphtalia, close to tearing up at the revelation. It made sense now… Why Naofumi wasn't acting very close to her or Keel. He had someone else in his heart. _'But… that was a long time ago… M-Maybe… he's gotten over it…? Right…? Right?'_ She kept telling herself that, but it didn't help her ease the stinging doubt, nor did it stop the tears. Naofumi only sighed, and gazed sympathetically towards Raphtalia… and that was all the answer she needed. Whipping her body towards the door, she ran out of it. She didn't care where she went… as long as it was away from everybody.

Naofumi only stared at the open door in sadness. In truth, he felt pity for the raccoon girl, seeing that she had feelings for him. After all, he was her saviour, just like Keel, but it was difficult to get over it. The driving force of his adventure was because of his wife… To get the justice he deserves against them… against the world. For there was no way Naofumi could ever forget his first love… could he…? He laid his head to rest, wanting to forget everything and lay in his own darkness...

"L-Lord Naofumi, there's trouble!" Étoile called from the doorway, interrupting his precious sleep. Groggy, the man stood up, groaning at the fact he just got out of one tense subject, and now was probably going to go through another. Being dragged by the new Vice-Captain, the two finally arrived at the cliffside, where the wind was billowing on his face, keeping him awake. Most of his party, sans Raphtalia, were there, a little worried.

"What did you want to show me?" The Shield Hero asked, exasperated, until she hands him a telescope. Looking through it, all he saw were waves on the side... until he noticed one thing on the horizon's edge... "A ship? No..."

"Not just a ship, Naofumi." Ake warned him, and the Shield Hero inspected it closer... and gripped the telescope harder at the sight of the flag. It had the familiar sign of the bow, spear and sword.

"A ship from the Church... Goddammit... Where are they going?"

"I don't know." Étoile responded. "But they could attack us on three sides if they could..." And that will cause problems, Naofumi thought to himself. But this presented a good opportunity... to get a good attack on the Church.

"Well, we shouldn't be standing here then." He told his party. "We're going to strike before they strike.

* * *

**Sorry that this took a while, but it's a little longer than before. But hey! It's complete! The thirtieth chapter! Feels good doesn't it?**

**Yes, Ake and Étoile are getting shipped hard. Deal.  
**

**Yes, Itsuki finally gotten his own Curse Series, and this will cause problems down the line. A lot of problems. **

**I'm going to state this now: Raphfumi is still going to be a mystery for you guys. Hehehe, but where's the fun in spoiling it? If it was going to happen, it would be a slow burn. Sorry.**

**Yes, there will be fighting next chapter.**

**Now for something I haven't done in a long time. Voting! Naofumi's next class is already predetermined, but what should Naofumi's next job class after that be?**

_**Illusionist**_

_**Berserker**_

**Vote now in the reviews! Also leave a review if you liked what you read!**


	31. Chapter 31: Clash

**I don't own Rising of the Shield Hero. Only the OCs.  
**

**Also, happy Mother's Day!**

* * *

_The Spark_

_The creation of the Wild Rose predates back before the War, right after the throes of the First Wave. I was a faithful **Scholar**, unemotional to some, scared and hiding from the frights of the world to a close few. My parents never really approved of me studying the art of healing, seals and potion-making, saying I should be a mage or a thaumaturge like Queen Maleticia. But I wasn't that kind of girl. I was quiet, thirsty for knowledge, deep within my shell, with only my best friend being a faerie made of pure healing mana._

_However, it was my first few years in research and development that a few of my dear friends getting executed due to their 'blasphemous actions'. I had to hide away, to make sure I wasn't involved... And yet, this filled me with nothing but apathy and desire for this to desist. I had to make a stand._

_What made this possible was done by, ironically, a demi-human slave, the first ones in fact. One of them was a mole demi-human. He had his digging claws cruelly removed, but Reinhardt, a blacksmith and a friend who wasn't into being a zealot of the Queen, affixed him with manmade claws. I have to say, the mole was crazy…, but he was brilliant and determined. Digging a tunnel straight underneath the court of the Queen's castle, he told me '**dis here Hero will save us all, including you, sistuh'**! At that point, I knew what he meant. With my fairy companion by my side, we were able to bust the court open, rescuing the Shield Hero and his companions from a guillotine. Not only that, thanks to my study on seals, I was able to remove their kill-switches in time, just before they went off._

_The Shield Hero was thankful. Incredibly so… and he was different. Him and his companions. Perhaps it was the way he comforted that little girl with wings, as if she was molested or something. Or the way he rallied his party to follow the tunnels and run for their life. But it did leave an impact on my life… An impact of change._

_\- First Chapter of "The Seeds of Rebellion", by Sharliya C. Eos, heretic and co-founder of the Melromarc rebellion, the Wild Rose._

* * *

"I must say… This is all very much a problem..."

A young lord told himself. Countless times since yesterday morning perhaps. Staring at his silent occupant on the guest bed, the man closed his eyes, finally at his wit's end. He prided himself not just from his expert political tact and lordship, but with his knowledge and studies of texts…

...and yet all of his knowledge couldn't save him for the precarious situation he was forced in.

On the bed was a young sleeping princess, her back resting on the bed. Her long blue hair was disheveled, sprawled, yet shimmering a deep sapphire blue on the sheets. While her usual attire reflected on the colour of blue, she was instead wearing a long blue nightgown. The lord only bowed his head at the sight, pitious about the young princess's plight, knowing that she has the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"I hope you aren't planning anything ulterior to Princess Melty, Lord Reichnott." A voice from the shadows interrupted the newly dubbed Van Reichnott, who only shook his head.

"No… rather, I pity the burdens the young Princess must fulfill, and the duties she must perform… for the sake of the kingdom and its a heavy burden..." He replied, turning his body around to meet the occupant he was speaking to, who uncovered herself into the morning sun and knelt beside the girl she was bound to protect.

"You are very kind, I daresay." The shadow replied, bowing her head in apology.

"A friend of Princess Melty is a friend of mine. You need not worry."

"I know… But, I daresay, what of her condition…? How is the young Majesty?" Her voice had the hint of worry and despondency, which was a lot of emotion for a shadow to even show.

"That depends. If you would be so kind to flip her over, so I can see her injury." The man offered with a smile, and the shadow obliged, seeing how she was Melty's guardian. She flipped her small body over, revealing a large patched up bandage covering her back. A small amount of blood has leaked and stained the very center of the bandage, with a few burns and scarring cracks outside the borders of the bandage. The shadow only grimaced at the sight. If those were the edge of the injury, she didn't want to imagine what was underneath the bandage. "It's healing… but not very well." Reichnott inspected, taking a closer look and feeling the scars and bandage, albeit very gently. "My healing spells and best medicines here are doing the best they can. All we can do is wait."

"W-Wait? Lord Reichnott, time is of the essence, I daresay!" The shadow implored with all her beseechment. "Isn't there an alternate solution to helping her? If we cannot resuscitate her in time, then…!"

"I know. But this is the best we can do to help Princess Melty." Reichnott sighed as he replied, hating how this was the best he could do to help not just royalty, but a friend in need. Especially with the church's knights and mages running around, and Siltvelt hunting for Melty's head? Of course it wasn't safe to test their luck, should he send them on their way, only for them to be captured and killed, or worse.

"B-But… What if they…?" The shadow tried to rebuttal, but was only shaken in fear and worry. Reichnott only had his pitious gaze on the shadow. It didn't take a scholar like him to realize just how shaken she was, especially after he was made aware of what has transpired.

From what she has told him, the negotiations were going swimmingly. Queen Mirellia offering compensation and giving the Shield Hero back to Siltvelt was enough to satisfy three of the Four Great Races of Siltvelt, yet it all collapsed when the last great race, the radical Hakuko, threw all of those negotiations, turned most of the great races against Mirellia and Melromarc, imprisoned the Queen, Princess and all of her supporters, and rallied for another upcoming war. One of the representatives, a Shusaku demi-human named Valnar, was only able to free Princess Melty and her shadow and prepared a route for escape. However, said route was compromised.

**.o0o.**

_Three days ago..._

_The cliffside… a popular place, made by nature's design, for demi-humans to begin their mating ritual under the watchful protection of the full moon. The deep river waters gently splashed along the cliffside down below, their soft crashes soothing to the ears. Tonight however, the moon illuminated not a ritual of eternal love and bondage, but a terrifying and bloody sight._

_Littered on the floor were the bodies of demi-human shadows, all of them slain, their shimmering moonlit blood flowing out of their fresh fatal wounds. Growls were heard within the foliage as beastmen and demi-humans stalked out and drew their weapons, surrounding their prey with malicious intent. Their targets, a lone shadow with her dagger out and her left arm damaged, bloodied and limp, and a disheveled Princess Melty._

"_Is your arm…?" Melty tried to ask, but the Shadow turned her head slightly._

"_It's fine, Princess… I will get you out of here, even if it costs me my life, I daresay…" The Shadow replied, yet her options are limited. She already took down at least five of these operatives with the help of Melty, and yet there seemed to be countless other assailants awaiting them. Deep within the shadows, suddenly, a familiar lion with two glowing amber eyes, sharp as a feline, slowly marched out into the moonlit open, one who made the Shadow glare, and made Melty more wary at his dangerous presence._

"_I'm surprised you lasted this long against my own forces, shadow." Jaralis growled out, his arms crossed over his puffed out chest. "If you were a demi-human or a beastman of Siltvelt, I would have surely assimilated you into our ranks with pride. But alas..." The beastman only snarled and pulled out his lion claws. "My claws will claim you both!"_

"_Y-You!" Melty stomped forward, her anger getting the best of her as she pointed a finger towards Jaralis. "Tell me…! Why?! I thought Siltvelt was set for peace! What goal would you have for this bloodshed?"_

"_Naive girl… Surely you can see why we do this. But first, I shall sample what you are made of!" Jaralis smirked, before lunging towards the duo, claws out. The shadow swiped her dagger, parrying the claws and aiming for the arms to defend her princess as much as she could. Whenever Jaralis swiped horizontally, she would slash back, deflecting the attack. When Jaralis used both hands to reach out and grapple the two, he was kicked away and slashed by a __**Zweite Aqua Slash**__ simultaneously. However, she was not without her serious injuries beginning to slow her down. One mistake was all it took, as Jaralis dodged a slash from Melty's shadow guardian, and paid the price by taking a backhand, knocking her back._

"_Guagh!" The shadow grunted, her pain slowly becoming too much, as the head injury caused her to lose focus. Melty gasped, before locking her eyes back towards Jaralis, water mana forming in her hands._

"_Get away from her! __**Zweite Aqua She-!**__" Melty tried to cast a protective barrier, but with speed the two humans never knew Jaralis had, he reached out and grasped the little princess by the collar and neck._

"_Not bad… for a human. But you're nowhere near the match of our might!" Jaralis huffed out, raising her into the air, the moonlight showing the smirk on his face to Melty._

"_Urgh…! Please…!" The princess pleaded as best she could with a grappled neck, her legs flailing about. "We can strive for peace…! Between human and demi-human…!" Those words alone made Jaralis and his surrounding troops laugh. _

"_Peace with you? Even now, you continue to tickle us with the notion that we wish for co-existence with your kind." Jaralis mocked, which shook Melty. "Rather, we wish to utterly destroy you!"_

"_W-What?! B-But… your people… it will…!" _

"_A necessary sacrifice, for the greater good. For the slaughter of all humans, akin to how you have slaughtered us a century!" Jaralis proudly stated, with many of the soldiers and mages agreeing with those statements._

"_We won't let you have your way with us anymore!"_

"_You call us the spawns of demons! So we'll show you demonic!"_

"_My family suffered under your torment long enough!"_

_The surrounding troops cried out for her death, something that was traumatizing to a child like Melty. She was raised in the belief of peace and co-existence, despite her father's warnings about demi-humans and slavery. To hear the words of war and hatred flung at her… she covered her ears and cried, tears coming down her ears._

"_Nooo! No no no! Please stop…!" Melty cried out while shaking her head frantically, unable to hear any more. Yet they echoed in her innocent mind. And shockingly, the outside words did stop. Many of the troops did still have hatred in their eyes… but her cries and pleadings did stop them from essentially condemning a child to die. Human or not, they had families, and nobody would want to condemn someone's child to death. Jaralis, on the other hand, wasn't affected by the sentimentality, but he did loosen his grip just a little on the girl's neck._

"_Hmph. As the century-old Shield God's words define the irony presented…" The lion beastman began, his voice sounding more zealous. "__**Instant karma**__." Jaralis then marched towards the cliff's edge, the princess hanging over a long fall towards the waters below. "I would have granted you a long and painful death, but consider this a mercy from the fates themselves, Princess." Jaralis hissed out, not wanting to kill his targets this way. But before he could let go of Melty, a sting of pain struck the back of his leg. "Augh!"_

_From below, the shadow, who regained her own consciousness, gripped her own dagger for another strike, slashed at the beastman's leg. However, her own hands were shaky and her vision was blurry and star-spangled, making for a sloppy attempt to cut off the leg. Her strike was enough to have Jaralis fall to one knee and loosen his grip on Melty. "P-Prin...cess…!" The shadow called out, showing that she was clearly concussed, yet her resolve wasn't shaken in the slightest. Slashing at Jaralis's arm once more, the beastman cried out in pain, releasing Melty off the cliff._

"_Ahh!" The Princess cried out in horrid shock. She tried to reach for the edge of the cliffside, but her hands couldn't reach the edge. Having no real choice in her method to escape, the shadow threw herself off, diving towards Melty._

"_Insolent humans!" Jaralis roared in anger, before a few sparks of electrical mana formed in his beastly hands. __**"O divine lightning, I call upon thee! Attach to my foes and cast judgement on their sins! Chain Lightning!"**__ An arc of lightning fired from his fingertips, unpredictably zapping across the rocky cliffside. The shadow turned and tried to block the lightning with her single good arm, but the spell simply weaved around her, something that she was going to regret._

"_AHHHHH!"_

_The single scream was all she heard. The young shadow turned her head, as everything was slowing down. The purple arc of lightning, zapping anything unpredictably… got Melty right on her back. The purple lightning struck her on her unprotected back. The shadow reached for the girl as much as she could… her Princess Melty… but it felt she was falling far away… further and further away… until they both hit water._

**.o0o.**

It was then that when morning came, some demi-human farmers and villagers who were living on Van Reichnott's property found the two of them washed ashore on the river. What was supposed to be a session of learning and discovering within his texts transformed into three days and nights of hospitality. The shadow, with scars, her concussion gone, and her left arm close to fully recovering thanks to Reichnott, recovered on the second day. Melty, however, has yet to wake up. The lightning strike made a serious injury on her back and, after hours of being untreated, had lasting effects on her body. Reichnott did his best, using his own methods and machinations, but they have yet to have any direct result.

"If only… I took the attack instead… the Princess, I daresay… Princess Melty would still be alive…" The shadow only hung her head while gripping her left arm. She could only curse and berate herself for failing to protect the Princess and Queen on the path to peace, fraught with danger. Reichnott only shook his head and placed a gentle hand on the shadow's shoulder.

"She _is_ still alive." He reassured the assassin. "She's breathing, albeit in a coma-like state, and has a long road to recovery. The only thing that we can do now… is wait."

"W-We don't have that kind of time! Siltvelt can attack any time! Pope Balmus can strike any time! We need to…!" The young woman began to hyperventilate, the stress beginning to get to her. Usually she would lean to Melty or Malty or even her own associates for support or orders. However, with nobody around, and the princess in bad shape, she didn't know what to do. The emotions within her were running rampant. She never felt like this before. Should she find help? Should she stay here? What's she going to do against the-?!

"_Aye! Can this one calm down now? I can 'ear 'er breathin' like a weasel!_" A voice out of nowhere made the shadow freeze. Who was that? It sounded like a squeaky female voice with an accent trying to chastise her, but it couldn't have been Melty for she was still asleep. Looking left and right, she couldn't find the owner of the voice, unless Reichnott was pulling a horrendous prank. That wasn't the case, however, because as soon as the shadow looked around at where it was coming from, a ball of light, the size of a cantaloupe, appeared atop Melty's sleeping form. The shadow nearly gasped and took a step back at the being that appeared in front of her, drawing out her dagger in the process. "I can't focus on 'ealing the girl if you keep breathin' that loudly, eh?" The irate voice knocked in her some sense, as the ball of light unveiled itself, in the shape of an incredibly tiny girl, wearing a short-skirted sleeveless dress on her body. She seemed to have leggings coloured white on the thigh areas and green on the feet, with yellow on her waist, much akin to morning dew on the grass reflecting on the sunlight respectively. Her hair was long and white, with two adorned hair pieces above her hair, much akin to ears. What stood out however, were the two butterfly wings on her back, dressed in gold, emerald bordering and a pink heart stamp on the tips of her wings. While her appearance is cute and fae-like, her attitude and demeanor was anything but.

"W-What is that thing?" The shadow stammered, downright shocked that it came out of Princess Melty's body. It was as if it came out of her body in a vampiric method, but the simple idea of coming out of her body made her jump. The faerie took offence at being called a thing, in a rather cute fashion, and was about to launch into a tirade, but she was stopped by the concerned Van Reichnott.

"Aurora, have you fixed up Melty from within?" Reichnott asked politely, unfazed unlike the shadow, with the newly dubbed Aurora looking unsure.

"I did the best I could for the lass. 'Er insides were rightfully messed up, and 'er 'eartbeat wuz slow and weak, so I 'ealed as much as possible. The best thing the lass needs right now is rest." Reichnott nodded, before turning towards the shadow.

"This is my companion and familiar. Aurora, may you introduce yourself to this shadow?"

"Fuck nooo, I won't! Not to this wheezer! And I'm not cha familiar either, Van Reichnott! I'm only in temporary service!" Aurora hissed out before turning around and crossing her arms, fuming that her work was disrupted. The shadow only watched on in disbelief.

"F-Familiar? What is she…? It's like… I daresay, I'm staring at a…"

"Yes. This is-."

"Shut it, ya shite! I can introduce me self just fine, thank ya very much." The Scottish fairy interrupted before clearing her throat, with Reichnott not losing an ounce of patience. "I'm Aurora, temporary familiar with this smart-aleck shite right 'ere. We were the ones who 'ealed you, and deh lass right 'ere too, so ya better be grateful, ya 'ear?!" The fairy proud introduced herself, crossing her arms to make herself more important.

"I'm guessing you're still lost." Van Reichnott stated, seeing the silence profound on the clueless shadow. "No surprise, considering Melromarc is a nation rife with religion rather than being surrounded by science. To explain, I am a **Scholar**, shadow, a natural blasphemer of religion. I'm assuming that you never heard of a **Scholar** before."

"I-I daresay, I have not…" The shadow shook her head, feeling lost.

"Well, Aurora is a faerie, a manifestation of healing mana, conjured into a familiar, similar to the fae folk in the tales of children. Able to help assist and cast magic in order to heal and protect, strengthen and silence. **Scholars** from ages past have utilized their magic to restore the wounded, and to bolster our allies."

"Ya know, she didn't ask fer an 'istory lesson, ya doof." Aurora remarked rather callously. However, Van Reichnott only laughed it off. The level of patience the lord has towards his familiar was beyond the levels of legendary.

"I see… Thank you, Aurora, Lord Reichnott, for your explanations, I daresay." The shadow bowed her head, before switching back to thinking about what to do. "Is there any way to make the recovery process faster, Lord Reichnott?"

"Hmm… There is a way, but… I am not too sure if it is possible to accomplish this…" The lord crossed his arms, losing his usual polite smile for once to process the solution.

"Then I will acquire what you need, no matter what, Lord Reichnott." The shadow bowed her head, accepting the order immediately, but Van stopped her.

"While I admire your dedication, the item may be impossible to achieve at the current time." He explains further. "The item that I require is a powerful healing agent, and can only be crafted. While I have all the ingredients, I am not an alchemist, nor am I a craftsman. To heal an injury this devastating, it must be _**Divine Quality**_."

"_**D-Divine Quality**_? I daresay, the only person who could reach that level was…!" The shadow muttered, remembering the stories of the Four Heroes. While three of them were able to utilize weapons to the fullest, the last one became a legendary craftsman alongside being a guardian of the weak, to make weapons and assist. There was nobody that could reach that quality except…

"Yes. The Shield Hero of yore." Van Reichnott finished the sentence, but shook his head. "But he is most likely passed on due to age, and the recently summoned one might not have reached that level of finesse in-."

"He's still alive."

"Pardon me?" That seemed to get Van Reichnott's and Aurora's attention. The faerie wasn't listening before (almost becoming sentimental for a short time), before snapping to attention at the mere mention of him being alive.

"Another comrade of mine is tagging along with the Shield Hero, and, I daresay, he has confirmed that this incarnation of the Shield Hero… is the same one from over a century ago." The shadow said, the truth ringing in their shocked ears.

"Really? Then this is perfect!" Reichnott cheered, rejoicing and raising his arms up, until he fixed his posture and robe. "If he can craft the potion, then-!"

"I don't believe he will." She cut the celebrations short, looking down in shame and hopelessness. Van Reichnott and Aurora saw just how downtrodden she was becoming.

"And why's that?"

"B-Because… he hates Melromarc… and all that it stood for. A-And…" The shadow just couldn't fathom the hatred that was directed towards her, and just how dire the situation has become. The words still rang hard inside her mind.

'_Screw you and your Queen's lies.'_

'_I couldn't care less about her 'royal summoning'. It's more or less a ploy to have me come to her playing field and have me executed, am I right?'_

'_For all I know, the Queen of Melromarc might be like the last one.'_

'_No, I'm talking about the XXVIII.'_

'_So tell your Queen to shove it. I'm not going to waste my time with that horrid bitch.'_

If he refused to help Princess Melty in her time of need (and most likely, he will not help), then it was game over for peace. Melty won't wake up, blood will drench the land, and peace will never be resolved between the kingdoms.

"That don't sound like the Shield 'ero I know."

The words of the crass Aurora snapped her out of her stupor. "W-What do you mean? You never even met him before." The shadow asked confusingly, but Aurora shook her head.

"Oh I know the bastard, alright!" Aurora fervently argued. "Black hair, green cape, sharp eyes, a **Light Metal Shield**, correct?" The faerie didn't even wait for an answer from the shadow. "Of course it is 'im! It should be 'im! My true master and I fought together a few times 'undreds of years ago! A man with an 'eart of gold, defender of peace and prosperity, the saviour of deh world, and deh _true_ 'ero of the World War! It don't sound like 'im to not 'elp someone in need, even if dey are Melromarc royalty."

"...H-Huh?"

"So don't get yur jimmies rustled, eh? Besides, wut 'appened with, 'I will acquire what ya need, no matter wut, milord?' At least follow up with yur words, ya wheezer!"

The shadow felt like she was gonna gape at that information. The Shield Hero? With a heart of gold? Defender of peace? With Naofumi, it didn't sound right at all. He intentionally caused a civil war, and outright rejected the notion for safe passage and peace. What could have changed him?

However, before she could finish that thought, a harsh bright light flashed from the windows, brighter and more oppressive than the sun. The earth rumbled slightly, as the three of them became wary of what was going on outside. However, before the shadow could check out what was outside, Aurura stopped her.

"Don't even move from there, ya shite wheezer!" She squeaks out, likely with fear in her voice. "I know that terrible magic! Don'tcha even try lookin' at the light!" Having no real choice in the matter, the shadow and Van Reichnott ducked their heads, the harsh golden light flashing outside, much akin to an explosion of golden flame. And finally, after what felt like forever, it disappeared, dissipating into the air. Silence reigned for a few moments, as the realization sunk in.

"The High Priest is here…!" The shadow nearly exclaimed, before picking up Melty on the bed. "We must flee from here, Lord Reichnott, before they come!"

"B-But the civilians! We must-!"

"No, it's too late, Van Reichnott..." Aurora stopped him. While the lord's first priority was the civilians, Aurora's change of demeanor stopped him cold. "Tha light probably got all the civilians in the area… and 'ave them tempered."

"T-Tempered…?" Reichnott's blood ran cold at that. From what the texts told him, tempering was the forbidden spell that the Tyrantress used to enforce control over nearly the entire populace of Melromarc years ago, so why would the High Priest be using it?

"No time, ya shite! Git goin' outta 'ere!"

"O-On it, but first…!" The lord ran to the medicine cabinet, grabbing the ingredients needed to make the potion to heal Melty later on. After a few seconds, he grabbed what he could into his pockets and ran towards the exit with the shadow and Aurora… only to meet face to face with a few knights of the Three Heroes Church.

"There you are! Heretics!" One of them announced, as they drew their swords. The shadow stepped backwards, until Aurora flew around their faces, catching them off-guard.

"Aye! Over 'ere, ya shite 'eads!" The faerie cried out, distracting them long enough for Van Reichnott to open his book and cast his spell.

"**As the lord of this land, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and confuse my foes who bar my path with steel! Zweite Confusion All!"**

A bright light shimmered and flashed above the knights' heads, as their eyes within their helmets dilated. Screaming in confusion, they waved their swords, hitting each other and knocking each other out one by one until they were all in a jumbled pile of armor. "Hurry to the stables! There's a carriage we can use to escape!" Reichnott ordered, hoping that the sound of the knights didn't alert anyone else. Unfortunately, they have.

"Heathens!"

"Don't let them escape!"

Another small group of church knights chased after them, while a group of church mages and nuns were in front of them, channeling spells to cast and hurt the escapees.

"Rgh! I'll shut dose mages right up!" Aurora snarled, taking a deep breath. **"Silent Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaam!"** The mages were knocked backwards by the powerful shockwave of sound, their ears ringing hard. Other than giving them temporary deafness, the scream also gave them the **Silence** debuff, making them unable to cast any spells for a while.

"Take Melty and secure a carriage and filolial, shadow!" Reichnott instructed, while casting another **Zweite Confusion All** on the knights, befuddling them once more. The shadow ran inside the stable to quickly fetch a filolial, but before that, she heard someone chanting a spell from the side.

"**As the queen of this land, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature, approach from the gates of hellfire and bring up the flames of disaster to mine pathetic and undeserving enemies! Drifa Hellfire!"**

_**BOOM!**_

Suddenly, the entire stable exploded into flame. Their ticket way out has been destroyed. The filolials were either on fire, or were fleeing from the burning building. The shadow jumped out in time, but was visibly burnt and damaged heavily. Coughing a few times, she hobbled out of the stable, holding Melty in her arms, before falling onto the floor. The unconscious girl with sapphire hair looked to suffer no damage, but the crisis they were in was far more pressing.

"So this was where my dear sister was hiding all this time." A more regal and snide voice caught the shadow's attention. Van Reichnott ran to help the shadow up onto her feet, while the faerie glowered at the one who cast that spell. However, the features of the woman struck her mind. Crimson hair, horrendous green eyes, a haughty arrogant smile, and her dainty fingers licked with the fire mana she just channeled to cast that spell. "Release her, and I just might spare your lives, traitors."

"P-Princess Malty…" The shadow muttered, coughing from the firestorm that was just launched towards her. Of all the people who had to ruin the escape, of all the people who had to target herself and Melty, it had to be her.

"Aye! Ya sick, wee-brained skank! What deh hell was that for?!" Aurora roared out, preparing for another **Silent Scream**. However, a dark force field enveloped the untempered group, freezing them in place and dropping them onto the ground.

"Errgghhh! What magic is this…?!" Van Reichnott struggled to get up, but fell onto his knees from the heavy gravity. He didn't even see or notice anybody cast it. The shadow was still on the floor, protecting the princess from the crushing effects of the gravitational field. Who could have…?!

"Release my daughter, shadow." The regal tone of King Aultcray ordered, his demeanour not wont to any questions or back talk.

"W-What? Y-Your Majesty?!" The shadow blurted out in shock. What was the King of Melromarc doing here? The pair on the floor plus the fairy looked up to see their King in his own kingly robes. However, in his hands was a weapon that history and legends speak of. A staff most regal, with golden bracings and jewels adorned the staff. A ferocious wolf head made of metal glimmered, with its shining diamond exuding powerful gravity magic on their very bones, powerful enough to shatter them.

"I gave you an order. Release my youngest daughter!" Aultcray bellowed with rage, to which the shadow did her best to release Melty under the gravity, knowing that they would all be crushed underneath the heaving weight of the invisible force if she didn't comply. The king finally released the spell immediately, running to pick up the child into his arms. Not like a kidnapper, but like a father. "Melty!" He cried out worryingly, picking the unconscious child up in his arms and hugging her, tears prickling in his eyes. "Oh Melty…"

"Y-Your Majesty…?" The shadow muttered, her body still wobbling from the effects of the gravitational spell. Taking a closer look, the king looks to be mourning for her daughter, as if she was dead.

"Good, King Aultcray. The non-believers are right in front of our eyes." The holy voice of Pope Balmus got their attention. Behind him came more church knights and mages, all of them armed to the teeth, and surrounded them with their steel. In front of them, the High Priest walked up with his glowing scepter, his smiling visage hiding away his true nature. Something that the shadow snarled at.

"You…" She growled. The first wave of outward anger she has ever exhibited towards anybody. It was _his _fault that the princess and true heir to the throne was ousted. It was _his _fault that he created tensions and war between human and demi-human. It was _his_ fault that the queen was forced to make amends, only for it to fail spectacularly in her face and ended up captured by Siltvelt. It was _his_ fault that he hypnotized, or tempered if the information from that faerie was true by any means, nearly everybody in the castle, essentially damning them of any dream of peace or any sort of living standards. But no other words can come out of her mouth.

"What are you here for!? To attack a land that is neighboured and allied to Melromarc… Are you trying to start a war?!" Van Reichnott demanded, for once displaying anger on his face, but the High Priest wasn't deterred in the slightest. In fact, he looked at Van Reichnott like some sort of bug.

"My my, Lord Reichnott." Balmus shook his head in disappointment. "Pardon the sudden visit. Not only would you ally and harbour demonic demi-human spawns in your land, you would also be the conspirator of the murder of the youngest Princess Melty. And thus God has deemed you guilty of death. Any last words?"

His words rang like the death knell tolling, but the two of them knew that this was, for the lack of a better turn, filolial shite. Melty wasn't dead, but in a coma. Still alive and breathing, just comatose. Likewise, Van Reichnott nor the shadow were responsible for her 'murder'.

"What?! Preposterous!" The lord argued. "I would never step that low to murder someone in cold blood, a child no less!"

"Are you trying to defy the word of God?" Balmus calmly warned, his tone unchanging, but his words threatening. Yet Van Reichnott didn't back out and continued to double down.

"I rather you shove it with your 'Word of God'!" The lord angrily opened his tome, charging up a spell from his book, but a projectile came from behind Balmus. Reichnott saw the projectile and tried to sidestep, but he was too slow and ended up getting impaled by the shoulder. "Auuuugghhhh!" He cried out, stumbling backwards, pain burning on his right pec.

"Bah, I'm gettin' slow." The voice of Tact came from within the group of the Three Heroes Church, walking to the front like a showboater. Pulling his fingers, the ornate blade that plunged itself into Van Reichnott's chest, came flying back to Tact's fingers, as if it was attached to a string. The lord gasped out in burning pain and fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding wound, while the shadow and Aurora was helping Reichnott on his wound. "It was supposed to go through you, right through the chest. Oh well. Back to you, Pops!" Tact responded playfully, with probably the most peculiar nickname for the Pope ever heard.

"Erring my Name too much is blasphemous. A sin." The striking words of Balmus did not deter the behaviour of Tact, who only shrugged.

"Fat lot of good you did about that." Tact commended offhand, giving a mocking smile to the glowering Pope, a much different look compared to his usual smiling visage. However, Balmus knew it was enough time wasted, so he began to raise his staff, readying his judgement.

"Hmph, a fitting end, for the two of you. Murders against the royal family, thou shalt be cleansed and enthralled by the Word of God. Be thrust in His all-consuming ligh-!"

_**CRASH!**_

The sounds of a collision, along with pained screams, came from behind, as a smoke cloud emerged. The knights and priests were not ready for what exactly was barreling right through, as a wooden carriage with iron reinforcements and bracings emerged from the cloud of dust, piloted by a fat filolial bird, swerving left and right in a wild fashion, hitting any unfortunate soul that collided with the attack. And on the driver's seat, holding the reins and controlling the fowl was…

'_The Shield Hero…!'_ The Pope hardened his gaze, and tightened his grip on his staff.

"No way… is it really 'im…?" Aurora asked herself, seeing the familiar mop of black hair, and the green cape. It was like a wave of super-hard nostalgia hit her.

But this has to end, the Pope thought, before his staff began to glow. The shape of the strange glowing scepter began to change, transforming into a glowing sword. **"Phoenix Blade!"** Balmus cried out, with a large firebird appearing in front of the high priest, and was launched towards the carriage, but the driver stood on his two feet, one hand holding the carriage behind him for stability, the other using his Shield.

"**Reflect!"** Those words summoned green mirror-like barriers around the Shield Hero, which bounced the **Phoenix Blade** back to the original owner, with a little bit of a struggle. The Pope's eyes widened, as he saw the firebird's attack coming back at him. However, the mages channeled mana into their High Priest's weapon, creating a forcefield that took the attack, but definitely left a large dent. By that time, the swerves finally created a thick dust cloud, obscuring the Church's vision. "Raphtalia, Keel, get moving with Filo and take out those knights and mages." Naofumi ordered.

"Urp…" The sound of a gutteral noise from Raphtalia made the man sigh, as Keel carried Raphtalia out of the carriage. The raccoon girl was looking a little pale due to the swerving.

"Again, Raphtalia?"

"S-Sorry… Master Naofumi…"

"Hurry and take the medicine quick to get it out of your system." Naofumi told the two, throwing them two vials of **Divine Quality Cart Sickness Medicine**.

Outside of the dust cloud, Aultcray became impatient. "So he returns…! Finally, I get even with you." King Aultcray growled, gripping his ornate staff, and instantaneously firing his own spell. "Let's see how your Shield handles this magic! **Float Mirror!"** Ten mirrors appeared out of thin air, revolving around Aultcray before flying towards the dust cloud and surrounding it, creating an inescapable prison of mirrors, while a ball of energy formed on the tip of his staff. It crackled with pure magical energy, powered by the strange staff the King was using, before aiming it above the cage of mirrors. **"Instant Blast!"** Multiple orbs of magical energy lobbed its way into the cage of mirrors, flying straight into them before bouncing off and ricocheting. The sounds of what seems to be screamed pains and cries were heard within that cage.

"My my. To see such tactical skill by the famed **Staff Hero**." Balmus complimented, which made Aultcray grimace a little, holding Melty in his free arm.

"T-The **Staff Hero…**?!" Van Reichnott, who overheard the conversation, went bug-eyed. That was the capabilities of the **Staff Hero**? He was hoping the Shield Hero could rescue Melty and spirit her away from her captors and father, but now… it was going to be a lot harder than before.

"If I can save and protect Melty with it, then I would." The King replied to the Pope, looking away at the smiling megalomaniac. He took a deep breath, his mind completely focused on protecting Melty. Protecting Melty was all he needed to worry about… For that was how the **Vassal Staff** was powered up: with the errant desire to protect.

It was how he felt when he left his hometown of Faubley, and went off fighting in the Hakuko Wars. Protection was all he could do, as the **Staff Hero**, warding off demi-humans, meeting Melromarc forces and his future lover Mirellia, and his dislike for Siltvelt. When news of Lucia, his sister, went missing arose, he had to find her, to protect her, the thought of her dead by the hands of Hakuko plagued him relentlessly.

But he turned them around; his youthful virtuosity and the drive to find her and save her were what powered him through the years of war using the **Vassal Staff**, in the hope that she would be alive. Then the news broke. Years deep in the war close to reaching its climax, the news of Lucia's death, due to a false pretense of peace and negotiation, dealt by the Hakuko warriors, under the orders of Hakuko Mad King Theodoric, reached him, and from there, he lost all hope. His protection was in vain, when he slaughtered the Mad King and his followers in a fit of rage. His foes crumbling to dust, along with the pathetic suicide of the Mad King, brought a vain hope of satisfaction, while the drive to protect Lucia crumbled away once his duty was done, alongside the use of the **Vassal Staff**.

However, that can change. With his revenge at hand against the Shield Hero and what he represents, his feelings on _protection_ were renewed. The **Vassal Staff** felt a little more lighter once more, closer towards the days of the Hakuko War and he raised his staff. Within, the **Instant Blast** began to glow brightly before…

"**Blast Prison!"**

Three explosions, along with the shattering of mirrors, occurred, making the others cover their eyes from the dust. Those three orbs, as large as basketballs, were amplified by the bouncing mirrors, and the explosions were like barrels of dynamite by the end. Many followers and tempered cheered at the sight of their King demolishing the Shield Hero, yet the King still felt suspicious.

"Incredible…" Malty was truly breathless at the sight of her father's spells and clever tactics. She then eyed the brilliance of the scepter, glimmering with magic. To think that she would be inheriting this strange scepter when she takes the throne…

'_**Then why not do it now?'**_

'_H-Huh?'_ Malty looked left and right, not knowing where the voice was coming from. It sounded… just like her.

'_**Draw your sword… You know you want to…'**_

'_W-Why? What's the point to…?'_

'_**Melty is still alive… all you have to do is-!'**_

"Malty!" The voice of her Father knocked her out of the conversation with herself. She didn't know what he was concerned about, but the look of his angry face confused her… until she noticed her sword was drawn… and it was pointing to Melty's neck, dangerously close to her in fact.

"W-Wha…?" Malty could only stammer. When did she draw her own sword? Why did she do it? But before she could question it, her Father did something that would forever scare her.

He scolded her hard.

"Put it away! PUT IT AWAY! I didn't teach a daughter of mine to hold a weapon close to your sister!" He snapped at her in desperation, making her back off. This King, her father that she loves, the one who spoils her rotten… just told her to back off. Perhaps it was just the thoughts of protection invading her father's head. Or perhaps it was because her sword was an inch close to penetrating Melty's neck and killing her, so maybe it was a little justified… but you don't tell that to your heir and future Queen. For once, Malty gritted her teeth towards her father in anger.

But before that could continue, the clouds disappeared, and suddenly, a **Drill** came flying towards the King. Before he could react to dodging, the barriers around Balmus protected the King. Sparks flew as the drill continued to dig into the barrier until finally the barrier repelled the **Drill **fully. "Y-You can't be…" Aultcray began, in disbelief at the sight in front of him. Naofumi, holding his stick like a gun, with Raphtalia, Keel and Filo in their battle stances, all of them relatively unharmed.

"It IS 'im… Naofumi's alive…" Aurora covered her mouth, tears coming down her spriteling eyes.

"The Shield Hero of yore…" Van Reichnott, his injury healed, muttered in awe. The shadow said nothing, but had her jaw drop at the sight of him.

"Our turn." Naofumi began, before making his next move.

* * *

**It's really late. I should get sleeping. Again, Happy Mother's Day, and sorry this was so late!**


	32. Chapter 32: Clash Part 2 Unexpectations

**Sorry for the lateness, but here's an EXTRA CRUNCHY chapter for you!  
**

**I do not own the Rising of the Shield Hero. Only the OCs.**

* * *

_Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Things just got worse._

_From the outskirts of Rabier, we learned two things. One: Rabier was actually the ones who sold us out from the start. They tipped their location to us, kept tabs on us using some sort of secret service (I'll call them that if I don't get a name), and were in with the Queen of Melromarc in terms of loyalty and service. While I would have gone ahead to deal with that royal family, I couldn't. Because…_

_Two: The Wave happened so much earlier than intended. What was once just a couple of weeks away suddenly happened out of nowhere. The timer simply drained itself so fast I couldn't process it. It was as if someone tampered with something that made it happen earlier than intended. My party was warped out of a safe haven and right into a battlefield… which happened to be right in the middle of the town of Rabier. And guess who was waiting for us…_

_Yep. The Spear Hero, and his entourage, waiting to arrest me once again._

_Ancient Journal of the Shield Hero Entry 9.4_

* * *

"_I'm sorry… What?"_

"_You heard me. You gotta stay here and defend this place, until we come back."_

_Those were the orders of Naofumi towards his two comrades, friends and the rebels underneath him. While the rest of the rebels saluted the Shield Hero despite the hasty order, the pair were skeptical about this order. Wasn't this a little too early?_

"_Naofumi, I don't know about this… The High Priest could be on there, along with the Sword Hero and who knows how many troops on that ship. This might be-."_

"_Exactly." Naofumi stopped him, as he was finishing up maintenance on the reinforced filolial carriage for Filo. "Decimate his forces before they decimate all of you. And then once that finishes or if we're in over our heads, we make a hasty retreat. How does that sound?"_

"_Mmm…" Ake pursed his lips on that matter, but he couldn't really deny the threat of Melromarc and the Three Heroes Church. After the attempt for an invasion and destruction of Iwatani, their stance against them was more concerning. _

"_Besides, if it was a more full-scale attack at another angle, then we have the preemptive advantage. Strike them before the iron's hot, they always say. Before they can attack and gather other members to their cause." Naofumi explained further, patting the transformed Filo on the back, who was munching on a bucket of food as a snack before the eventual fight. Ake only crossed his arms and sighed, but Étoile had her head down in thought. While it may have only stirred up Ake's worry, she was contemplating the strategy. Down at the west were the lands of Reichnott and Rabier, filled with humans and demi-humans, unaware that a power-hungry megalomaniac is coming to their homes, eager to forcibly convert them into his following. At least, that was the information Naofumi learned from the two soldiers. He was already absurdly powerful as a Shield Hero, with the ability to attack and cast powerful magic. Nothing like what the tales and legends of the Shield Hero were like. Despite the high risks, Étoile began to think that maybe, just maybe, the Shield Hero can pull it off._

"_Ake… I trust the Shield Hero might have the right idea." Étoile stated, making Ake look at her in surprise. "It's not that the plan isn't dangerous and risky. Far from it. But I trust the Shield Hero's judgment on the situation."_

"_Plus, the rewards far outweigh the risks. Increased border control, possibility of eliminating some important figures, along with possibly rescuing and recruiting others. If they fall to the Church, then they're lost for good, and we'll be at a tactical disadvantage." Naofumi added on that._

"_It sounds like you're acting more like a conqueror than a hero," Ake noted, but Naofumi shook his head._

"_Difference between the two: one conquers to compensate for their tiny pride, the other does it to protect his home." He replied, which made sense. A conqueror would have planned to take the territory, but Naofumi was being more benevolent in his reasoning for attacking. If not, he could always just evacuate the citizens before their attack. Étoile nodded and saluted, while Ake only sighed._

"_So you're taking Raphtalia, Keel, Filo and Rino with you for the fight?" Ake asked, scratching his head. Naofumi hesitates a little, before shaking his head._

"_I'm leaving Rino here too. You guys need the extra defense and support with her." He informed them, which raised an eyebrow._

"_Eh? Don't tell me it was because of yesterday." Étoile rolled her eyes. She knew of Ake and Naofumi, and how they blamed themselves for her condition after the explosion. _

"_Yesterday? More like today. I'm not heartless enough to send lovebirds into combat if necessary. Plus you wouldn't do it with a child in your care." He smirked as Ake's cheeks and Étoile's face blushed an atomic red._

"_T-That…" Étoile tried to speak, but it came out as stammers._

"_I-I-I…" Ake's shy side came back at full force. _

"_Heh. Well, just for advice, Ake…" The Shield Hero brought the young knight under his arm in a brotherly manner. "Feline demi-humans have heat cycles, so if she gets extra touchy and hot, then you have to 'satisfy her cravings,' if you know what I mean." Indeed Ake did know what Naofumi meant, and it got him blushing so hard, he could cook an egg on his cheeks._

_It also didn't go unheard by Étoile, who got embarrassed from that information, something she considers private. "H-HEY! DON'T TELL HIM!"_

"_Oh? Why not? Afraid you'll go into heat with him? He IS of age, you know." The Shield Hero joked about, with the two of them finally going silent. Naofumi only shook his head at the blushing two. "I guess I've said all that I needed to say. You know your orders?" Naofumi asked in a serious manner, and the two soldiers, shaking out of their own shyness, saluted._

"_We won't fail you, Captain." The two responded, with Naofumi nodding. He was getting a little used to his title, no doubt._

"_Right." Naofumi began to walk to the driver's seat. "Raphtalia! Keel! Get on!" He called out. The wolf girl ran up to the carriage and got on._

"_Alright! Coming!" Keel cheered, her gauntlets already on her hands. However, Raphtalia rustled through the foliage of the forests, trudging slowly to the carriage, her expression downcast. Everybody noted just how miserable she looked. Keel's face shrank to worry, wondering what was getting her best friend down in the dumps. Ake and Étoile wanted to help as well, and tried to reach out for her, but Naofumi only put his hand on the raccoon demi-human's shoulder._

"_Focus on the fight. Any questions you have, I will answer after."_

_She nodded. It didn't help her feel any better, but she'll have to clear her head for the upcoming fight with her master. The Shield Hero then climbed on and gripped Filo's saddle._

"_HYAH!" Giving it a whip, the bird knew it was the signal to go, and go she did, as all that was left was a large trail of dust across the dirt path. The two soldiers watched onward, the wind blowing on the side, before Étoile broke the silence._

"_Ake…You'll take responsibility… right?"_

"_E-Eh?" The knight stuttered a little, before looking at Étoile's cat-like eyes, green as the emerald glades of nature. His mind blanked out, but his heart spoke up for Ake. "O-Of course!"_

"_Thank you…!" She smiled, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a chaste kiss on his lips. It was like electricity for the both of them and, as if they could hear their own heart-pounding thoughts, the couple wanted more. The two of them, free from their own shyness, began to lean closer once more, intent on continuing their heated-._

"_EEYYYAAAAAAUUGGHHHHH!"_

_It was the sound of a scream that got them out of their romantic stupor. Turning around, they ran, grabbing their weapons, only to see the confusing sight of a malnourished man holding a battle axe, struggling to get up from the floor. The townspeople were gathered around, as if panic was leaving them, a thought protruding within all of their minds._

'_What the hell?'_

**.o0o.**

"Our turn."

It wasn't even a split second when the Shield Hero, **Assassin**'s 'hook sword' ready, dashed towards the High Priest with quick speed, with his two demi-human girls and his giant pet bird following right behind.

"Not yet…! **Float Mirror!**" Aultcray raised his staff, more mirrors appearing in front of himself, his family, the High Priest and Tact, as a means of a shield against Naofumi's first strike. He knew it connected when the mirror in front of him created a large web of cracks upon Naofumi's impact with his 'hook sword'. That caught him off-guard. _'One strike… and that devil cracked it that much?'_ And then suddenly, another blow came, and it shattered into pieces, Aultcray covering his face from the shards.

"Whatever your power is, it won't stop us." Naofumi declared, but as his eyes landed on Aultcray's staff, his eyes froze and his body stiffened. _'Wait… That staff… no…!'_

"**Brionac!**" The High Priest's voice was heard, and Naofumi spotted a bright light roaring towards him. He could almost feel the light singe on his left cheek, but Balmus's transformed spear clashed onto the mirror Aultcray made, delaying the attack and giving Naofumi more than enough room to dodge Aultcray.

"**Radiant Moonstrike!**"

"**Power Dunk!**"

Two blurs came rushing from behind, leaping upward and slamming their weapons down on the King and the High Priest. Raphtalia only glared at King Aultcray, who was barely matching her strength with the **Vassal Staff**, since it was one hand versus two. Keel, however, only was able to hit the barrier around Balmus, making nary a scratch or a crack, who narrowed his eyes towards the wolf girl.

"Hmph! Demi-human scum! **Absolute Precision!**" The Pope declared, in a holier-than-thou voice. A green aura cloaked his body, making all of his attacks land without fail. The scepter transformed into a replica of Itsuki's bow, and Balmus drew its arrow, charging up mana once more for another powerful attack. As long as he was safe within his barrier, fueled by his followers, and admittedly Aultcray's annoying mirrors not getting in the way, the demi-human swine and the Shield Devil were easy pickings.

"Tsk…!" Keel knew she didn't lay a dent on the magic barrier that guarded the high priest, but she then heard some chanting from Naofumi's end.

"**The glow in the deep-rooted hearts of man, axis of all power! My powers are yours to command! Aura!"**

His arms transferred golden lights to Raphtalia, Keel, and Filo, granting them a large all-around boost for the price of a large chunk of Naofumi's mana. "Go!" He commanded, and the three ladies didn't have to be told twice to press onwards. Naofumi then attempted to approach to assist, but Tact walked up, blocking his way, with a bloodthirsty smirk on his face. It was clear that the man of Faubley was only interested in him.

"Letting your so-called friends be lambs to the slaughter? Not a strategy the great Shield Hero Naofumi would use."

"That era's long past. Doesn't matter if you're royalty, religious or none of the above; you'll all bleed and die just the same."

**.o0o.**

Raphtalia pushed more and more against Aultcray, very close to overpowering him. Her hands gripped hard on her **Icebrand**, as he could feel the cold air beginning to seep into his bones. "Grr…!" Aultcray grunted, before forming a **Float Mirror** right at Raphtalia's legs and swept her with it, making her stumble and sheathe her sword. He then aimed his staff at her, pure magical energy pulsating without charge, forming into a sphere, ready to be launched at her face. **"Instant Blast!"** The ball of energy fired, but his target disappeared with such speed, that even he couldn't track the hair on her head. However, he felt the wind shift behind him, and by instinct, Aultcray knew that she circled around to his back. With a quick channel, gravity began to get heavier around Aultcray, causing Raphtalia in **High Runner** to freeze in place, struggling to get her heavy legs out of the earth.

"Rgh… so heavy…!" Raphtalia could manage to say before she could feel the air heat up beside her. Her eyes shifted left, noticing Malty's hands creating a powerful and dense inferno.

"Got you, damned demi-human scum! **Drifa Hellfire!**" Malty launches her spell, with a sinister smile illuminated by the licking flames, towards Raphtalia. The raccoon girl braced herself, and was promptly hit by the intense hellfire, exploding on her face and covering her entire body, consuming her without so much of a yelp of pain.

However the explosion was widespread, nearly caught Aultcray and Melty. "Augghh!" He cried out in shock and mild pain, mostly to raise his arms and cloak to protect the unconscious Melty from the sparkling flames. "Malty! Watch where you're aiming your spell!"

"H-Huh?" Malty looked at her father with pure shock. Did she hear that right? Indeed, she did, with Aultcray doubling down.

"Watch where you aim your damn spells! You almost hit your sister!" He hissed out, caressing her unconscious, or possibly dead, younger sister. Malty couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was the part where she would be praised by her daddy. Where she would be showered with encouragement for roasting the closest companion of the Shield Hero. That was how it always went, and the words always made her feel giddy, the feeling of pleasure curdling around her nerves.

Those words made her feel cold and frankly… insulted. Never before has her father been so insulting to her. It made her angry. It made her look at him, for the first time in her life, like he didn't matter.

'_**See? You don't need him… He won't love you like he loves the obstacle to your throne… Just like how I always told you.'**_

Before Malty could respond to the voice within her, the roaring swirl of flames fizzled out, with a cry of defiance, as Raphtalia blew back the white-hot flames. Her body looked to be covered in frost as her resistance to fire, thanks to the _**Golden Ruby-Jade Bracelet**_ and the_** Icebrand**_ she wields, was incredibly high. Aultcray and Malty looked to be dumbfounded at the outcome; Raphtalia should have been less than ashes at this point!

"**Icicle Prison!**" She stabbed her sword to the ground, and icicles rose from the ground, surrounding Aultcray in a gaol of ice spires.

"Wha-?!" The old man yelped, nearly letting go of Melty into the sharp ice. "I-Impossible…!" There was no way a demi-human, one who clearly had no ability to control such could have this much control and manipulation of ice, can she? Malty, on the other hand, looked angered and defiant against the now-free Raphtalia, who only glared back.

"You… You weren't supposed to survive that! You're just scum! Dirty, demi-human scum!" She insulted, fumbling with her battle princess gown to grab a mana potion. Yet, her body instinctively and barely dodged a blue blade that nearly sliced her throat apart. Malty then glared at her foe… then was visibly shocked. The raccoon demi-human's eyes… It was different compared to all the other times she saw the raccoon girl fight in the rebellion.

Those were the eyes belonging to someone who is willing to maim and kill.

**.o0o.**

At the same time, Keel felt the power coursing through her. Just like from the rebellion, the power boost pushed her against the barrier. Barreling rapid fists onto it, the magic barrier's cracks were beginning to get wider.

"Such a demonic power boost, but it is God's decree in which you will die." The pope calmly aimed his replica bow, mana finally fully charged. "No escape, demi-hu-!"

"**FILO KIIIIIICK!**"

A giant ball of feathers came down like a cannon, smashing her two avian feet onto the barrier. The power behind the double kick was enough to shatter it upon impact, knocking the priest back.

"Gaaaaugh!" Balmus was knocked onto his back, stupefied by the amount of power the Shield Devil corrupted his minions. No one could break through that barrier; as it was crafted by God! The Pope lost his sense of composure as a few mages assisted on getting him back up and healing him. "Grrr…! What are you standing around for!? Kill them!" Balmus ordered, losing his holy composure. The remaining mages and knights, still numbering in the dozens, aimed their weapons and incantations towards the wolf girl and the giant bird.

"Ugh…! Seriously?! Fight fair!" Keel growled, her gauntlets crackling with lightning. "**Shock!**" Her palms radiated with paralyzing electricity, and easily, one punch was enough to send the knights falling to the ground, dead or paralyzed. It was like a dancer, swinging her fists, electricity dancing with her, traveling through the plate armor of the knights.

Filo was a lot more rougher when it came to 'playing' with her enemies. While her size was big, her feathers cushioned any blow that came against her, akin to downy. Her clawed feet, beak and her immense size and speed, on the other hand, were more than enough to knock the daylights out of the hypnotized buckets. At least, they look like buckets, but Filo couldn't remember the name that Naofumi or her big sisters gave them. Suddenly, her sense felt a powerful gathering of energy coming from the evil glasses man, now standing up, and his replica sword radiating with fire energy aimed at them. "YOUR RECKONING COMES!" Balmus bellowed, a large maddening grin plastered on his face, with Keel, in the midst of shocking another knight, widening her eyes. "**PHOENIX BLADE!**" He roared, sending a large majestic flaming avian towards the pair. Keel braced herself… before getting picked up by Filo by the back of her qipao.

"Gaack! Filoooo! Keel cried out in pain, before thrown up and onto the back of a sprinting queen filolial.

"We have to run!" Filo responded, sprinting left and right as the phoenix, imbued with **Absolute Precision**, continued to chase them. At her highest speeds, they were barely able to outrun the phoenix, but it ran through buildings, burned through wheatfields, and evaporated the small streams. It was only a matter of time before Filo got tired and the two became a pile of ashes. Her mind began to weigh her options, few as it were, until she remembered her master.

"Filo! Go to Master Naofumi!" She told Filo, and the bird nodded, jumping over the phoenix and dashing towards where her master was, with a firebird literally hot on their trail. All the while shouting to try to get his attention.

**.o0o.**

Throughout the fight, two men were locked against each other's arms. Tact had an ornate claw attached to one hand, right near Naofumi's throat, and a knife on the other, the blade close to touching Naofumi's liver. The Shield Hero grappled on both of Tact's hands, holding both weapons back.

"Hehehe… Cmon, Naofumi. Use the new tricks you got while you were here! Show me… show me just how powerless you really are!" Tact taunted, yet he glowered at the blonde man's arrogance for a show.

"You'd think I'd fall for a taunt like that? I've heard worse from beggars and nobles alike!" Naofumi pushed back Tact with a kick, and jumped backwards, gaining some distance from the blonde man, who only shook his head.

"Really. Small wonder you aren't attacking me. I far out-level you, Naofumi. With my stats alone, I'm more Shield Hero than what you can ever be!" Tact laughed, almost in a petty way. Much akin to a child's perspective, Naofumi thought, but there was no denying it. Tact is leagues stronger in terms of stats and level alone, but he has fought against men and beast alike who had that much of a level disparity before. All Naofumi had to do was stall him, or wait for the perfect chance to counter.

"And yet you haven't killed or maimed me yet. Goes to show that you're even more pathetic than the title of the Shield Hero if you can't actually land a hit on me." Naofumi countered, with Tact narrowing his eyes. The Shield Hero took that as a sign of Tact being easily tauntable, because he readied his ornate claw and golden knife.

"**Super Acceleration!**" He heard Tact blurt out his command, as he disappeared to a speed that even Naofumi had trouble keeping track of. "Don't try tracking me with your eyes! I know where you're going to block! I know everything about you!" Feeling the wind shift all around as the blur of blonde kept circling around him, there was no way Naofumi had a way to know where he would strike…His mind instead tried to process the information he just heard.

'_He knows everything about me…? He's the puppeteer! Of course he would be…! That bastard…!' _Naofumi thought to himself, the speed of Tact getting faster and faster. "Tsk…! **Shield Prison!**" Before Tact could enclose him, Naofumi enclosed himself within hard plates and chains, covering him in a shell with only himself inside. However, he didn't hear the shuffling wind and footsteps of Tact outside. Could he have sto-?

_**SCHLINK!**_

Suddenly a searing stabbing pain erupted on his side of his abdomen, where his liver was. Naofumi held back a cry of pain, but what could have…? It hit him. Looking down in the darkness, he noticed a knife plunged right through, thanks to another person within the **Shield Prison**.

"Surpriiiise~...!" The mocking whisper of Tact was heard, as he, with his **Super Acceleration**, entered inside the prison without Naofumi noticing, giving him the prime opportunity to sneak attack. "I told you, I know _everything_…"

The **Shield Prison** shook and rattled, before it dispelled, with Naofumi kicking away Tact while holding onto his injury. It would have killed anybody normal, but Naofumi isn't normal. "Rgh…" He gripped his injury, wondering why he wasn't regening. Usually his injuries, when inflicted, healed him back up, but this time, his wound wasn't repairing itself like it should. _'That knife… that isn't any normal knife…'_

"Like it?" Tact smirked, showing the knife in a new form. Instead of a clean ornate semi-transparent throwing knife, it was a serrated dirk he pulled out, with a jewel in the center. Something that made Naofumi's eyes widen.

"Seven Star…! You stole them?!" Naofumi growled, before blocking more throwing knives, struggling to do so. Despite Tact lazily throwing them, the strength being it felt more like he was throwing pans and pots.

"Stealing? I would _never_ be so heartless to do… You know what? Yeah, I stole them." Tact casually replied, fiddling with his Seven Star Claw and Seven Star Projectile. Naofumi only shook in frustration, before noticing Tact's demeanor changed. His eyes narrowed with his own frustrations towards Naofumi. "The previous Seven Star Heroes were trash. Their successors were trash as well! Pure human carrying cases for these weapons! They've no right for being heroes!" His eyes looked so uncaring, stunning Naofumi even further.

"How… How do you know all of this?! Who are you really?!" Naofumi demanded, questions popping up more and more, as he stood back up onto his feet. But Tact didn't answer the question, instead he landed a kick on Naofumi's wound, making him fall in his knee again, and then pulled out another Seven Star weapon. This time, it was a whip.

"Perhaps I should refresh your memory." Tact unfurled his whip and, using **Super Acceleration** again, went behind Naofumi and kicked him yet again on his other leg, forcing him on both knees. Naofumi felt the pain on his legs hamper him, yet he refused to scream. But nothing prepared him for the whip wrapping around his throat and Tact pulling on it hard. "Remember the war! Draw out your rage! The day where everything died!"

"No…! No no no!" Naofumi continued to struggle, his fingers tried to dig into his neck, but it was like the whip was surgically attached to it.

"Yes! Let the rage flow through you and unto me! And when you, the carrying case, are emptied, the Shield will belong to me!"

Electrifying pain entered into his system, traveling through every single atom of his body, hitting his brain the hardest. Strangely, memories from the past flooded, like it was overflowing from his heart. Memories that he kept hidden for the past two weeks. The suffering that he was numb to began to come back to him fresh, his vision upon seeing them all in pain returning, hurting his mind tenfold.

"I-I can't…!"

Tears leaked out of his eyes.

"Don't…!"

His eyes dilated, as the echoes of a shrill laughter filled his ears.

"Can't… force me…"

He struggled to breathe.

"T-To… to…!"

The eyes of his enemies paralyzed him.

"...r-rememberrrrr!"

His eyes dilated and turned green.

**.o0o.**

"_G-Ggk! Hrraaaaaaugh!" Naofumi growled, the Seven Star Whip on his throat. One of the Bow Hero's party members had him latched around his throat, and it indeed hurt. From his gatherings with his party, especially from his best friend Ghido, the Seven Star weapons gain a power boost against the Cardinal Heroes. But it wasn't enough to stop Naofumi, as he overpowers these pretenders easily. "RAAAAUUGGHHH!" Pulling the whip with his hand, he swung the holder, who screamed in pain, and threw her into the air, with one of his own party members, a lupine demi-human girl, firing ice arrows, freezing her into a block._

"_No!" A man with an ornate Legendary Bow yelled in shock, before pulling out his bow in sheer anger. "Out of my way! I'll kill that criminal myself!" His bloodthirst radiated, as he shoved one of the female mages holding the Seven Star Staff belonging to the Spear Hero aside to aim his shots._

"_S-Such sorcery and firepower…! But I will not be bested! I will fire back, twice as hard! __**Float Mirror!**__" The turtle beastman, Ghido, told himself, casting mirrors to block spells and projectiles left and right, protecting his master as much as he could. In his hand was the one-of-a-kind Seven Star Staff, with himself declared as the Hero of the Staff._

"_C'mon, Kiara! Stay with me!" The pheasant demi-human, Akoner, tried to use his salve to heal up a wound on his party member's chest, as an arrow penetrated her body. With the __**Divine Quality**__, it healed up almost instantly._

"_Why?! Why won't you conform to us, villain?! We're trying to SAVE you!"_

"_Of course the villains would call us villains! Have at it!" Threats were continuously pouring from both sides, as humans continued to clash against each other in the throne room without mercy. The Shield Hero and his party, against the Spear Hero, the Sword Hero, the Bow Hero, their respective parties, along with the Queen of Melromarc, the witch and the main instigator of everything that has happened: Malitecia G. Melromarc._

"_**Longinus!**__" The lunge the Spear Hero performed was powerful, but Naofumi held fast against the blonde-haired man. While one looked angry, the other looked pleading, as if he wanted the Shield Hero to stop. "Out of the way, Naofumi! I can vouch for your innocence! Please! Just leave these animals and join Malitecia!" Yokubo Kawatta, the Spear Hero, clashed against Naofumi, yet it was like attacking a steel wall with a stick. _

"_Bullshit, Yokubo!" An angered look was plastered on the face of the Shield Hero, as he grabbed Yokubo and tossed him into the air. "Sadina!" He called out, and the orca woman rushed and slammed her trident against Yokubo, who blocked it with his own spear, and started their own duel. Instincts screaming at him from behind, he raised his shield and erected a __**Reflect**__, as arrows and spells fired from behind him. _

"_Don't bother, Shield Hero! Our numbers are greater! Stronger! What makes you think you have any chance against us __**true**__ heroes?!" Hokotora Yoichi growled out, his holier attitude made Naofumi tighten his fist hard. Before he could get another shot in, Naofumi raised his hands._

"_**Needle Series: Multi Shield Prison!**__" Multiple __**Shield Prison**__s erected from the ground, clamping Yoichi and the mages within with inescapable needles. Cries of pain and frustration could be heard within._

"_Kyaaaa!" The sound of a child was heard as Naofumi saw the third Cardinal Hero pin Kelga, a young lupine demi-human, down on the ground. Raising his Legendary sword wordlessly, he plunged it into her chest. The child closed her eyes tight… only to notice that the fatal strike wasn't hurting._

"_G-Grr…! R-Ryodo…!" Naofumi growled, a tether coming from the Shield Hero to Kelga. It was a good thing his __**Cover**__ skill made it in time, or else the Sword Hero would have killed her. Still, it hurt a lot, transferring all the pain and damage from Kelga onto himself._

_The silent man said nothing, his brown hair simply waving in the wind. He was the one Naofumi hated the most, due to his fixation for EXP and nothing more, not even speaking at all. Gripping his shield as it transformed, he aimed it at the stupefied Ryudo. "__**Bear Trap Shield!**__" A bear trap on a rope launched itself and clamped on Ryudo's face, causing him to cry out in surprise. A blast of energy, courtesy of Ghido, came from behind Naofumi, hitting Ryudo square on the stomach, getting him off of Kelga._

"_Naofumi…! A-Are you…?" Kelga stood up to check on her party leader's fatal wound, but Naofumi shook his head as it began to regenerate._

"_Don't fret. Keep fighting!" He ordered and she obliged, grabbing her bow and began to fire her arrows. Naofumi only took a deep breath afterwards. He was stabbed in the heart many times, and it continued to hurt more and more. But if it was for his teammates, what was one more stab to the heart?_

"_ENOUGH!" A shrill voice caught his attention, as the witch stood up from her seat. Malitecia, who was simply watching with intrigue and amusement, noticed that her side, despite outnumbering the Shield Hero's party. Narrowing her eyes, she slammed her staff on the floor, generating a magical shockwave that knocked back everybody, including her own pawns and Heroes. Only Naofumi withstood that shockwave, and she stood up to walk towards him, her heels clacking being the only sound echoing. Her red hair was flowing smoothly behind Malitecia's head, her smooth unblemished skin and sharp green eyes could make any supermodel green with envy. Her dress wasn't hiding anything either, possibly as a distraction, but Naofumi wasn't having any of it. Malitecia's crimes were simply too heavy to ignore._

"_Malitecia… All the atrocities… They were your doing. The destruction. The conquering. The betrayals. The inhuman tempering! And making the Final Wave of Calamity prosper rather than working together to destroy it! All of it!"_

"_And what of it? What are you going to do about it, 'Hero'?" Her smooth, mocking voice did little to hide her smug arrogant attitude, which made Naofumi snarl. He could remember every single betrayal, from the tempered Wild Rose, Siltvelt's previous king Kimba of the Claw, many of the scattered demi-human factions working under the auspices, three of the four dead auspices themselves, and numerous towns. Everything was caused by her, all for what? Her own vanity?!_

"_You will die for your inhuman crimes!" Naofumi declared, readying his own Shield to fight. However, he heard footsteps coming from the left, and Naofumi blocked the sword strike, courtesy of Ryudo._

"_Give up, Naofumi." He simply stated, like an unflinching sentinel._

"_Damnit! Out of the way!" The Shield Hero pushed back Ryudo and continued to parry against his attacks. The haughty laughter of Malitecia only irritated Naofumi further._

"_Yes, my pet! Slay the Shield Hero in my name!" Malitecia announced, but in a surprising display of emotion, the Sword Hero looked at the queen with a single glare and spoke two words:_

"_Shut up."_

_That got the queen frowning hard, nearly ruining her beauteous complexion. Naofumi would have been stunned silent if he wasn't parrying one of his enemy's sword strikes. He then pushed Ryudo off, making him trip backwards off a rock, and roll backwards on his knees. But before the two could clash again, they both heard Yokubo speak._

"_That's enough! Ryudo, stand down!" Ryudo froze, looking at his right, before standing down, with Naofumi raising an eyebrow. It was when the Shield Hero turned his head to the left where his face paled at the sight. There was Yokubo and Yoichi, their weapons aimed at Ghido, kneeling on the floor._

"_F-Forgive me… Naofumi…" Ghido weakly muttered, his Seven Star Staff out of reach. "The Witch… Malitecia… that magic has weakened us… paralyzed us..." The turtle coughed out blood, making Naofumi's legs quiver a little. His legs tried to move, but Yoichi aimed his bow right at Ghido's face._

"_Not another step, criminal." Yoichi's smirk was undeniably anger-inducing. "And don't try to use the __**Air Strike Shield**__. We have our weapons upgraded enough to pierce that weak defense skill."_

"_Naofumi please… Let us help. We'll spare your animal friends too if it makes you happy. Just… surrender." Yokubo had a sullen unwilling look on his face, but Naofumi wasn't buying it. He was blind to everything. Blind to the truth that was right in front of him. Or he could be lying._

'_**But what could you do?'**_

_His options were limited. And yet surrender isn't an option for him. It can't be. After everything that has happened? Everything he has achieved?_

"_Freaking bastards! You expect me to lie down and die for your regime?!" Naofumi growled at Yokubo, who only grit his teeth. Yoichi, on the other hand, only puffed out his chest._

"_Hmph, and we should assume yours is better? Don't make me laugh!" Yoichi nearly guffawed. "Anything you touch turns to ruin! Zeltoble, Q'ten Lo, and now Melromarc! And you dare assume that you are better than us?!"_

"_Shut up!" Naofumi wasn't in the mood for small talk. Unbeknownst to the Heroes and the Tyrantress, a small flicker of accursed flame began to light up in Naofumi's grip. Ghido, on the other hand, saw it, and raised his head._

"_N-Naofumi…! Don't… listen to them…! Don't… give in… to your rage…! Ost… she would never… want you to… lose yourself again…" Ghido's pleading voice made Naofumi stop. They were provoking him into their game and, as much as he wanted to break their skulls, he didn't want Ghido to die. He promised the beastman's human lover that he would never give in, and to come back in one piece._

"_Enough. Naofumi, surrender and make peace with us. Or else…" Yokubo stated, his reluctant tone allowing no recourse. His spear aimed at Ghido's neck, his threat made. But Naofumi narrowed his eyes, but another's voice caught his ears, along with the crackling of lightning._

"_Peace? Why would we consort to lesser beings like you? No, the answer is EXTERMINATION!"_

_Malitecia's voice reverberated, her shrill voice announcing what her intentions were. But that wasn't the reason why Naofumi turned around. The Shield Hero saw a ball of dense black lightning form, not in front of Malitecia, but from one of Yokubo's followers. Specifically, a red-haired dead ringer of Malitecia that is in Yokubo's party fired the lightning ball towards Naofumi. "G-Gaugh! __**Reflect!**__" He shouted out of instinct, and a shining green barrier erected all around himself. However, the ball stopped in mid-flight, right before it hit the __**Reflect**__, much to Naofumi's shock. "H-Huh?" Naofumi saw it rise to the ceiling and then suddenly slam down from behind._

_Only for him to hear a strangled grunt of immense pain, all within a span of a few seconds._

"_Hee… heeheeheeheehahahahaha! I-I've done it! P-Praise be to the Queen!" The voice of the dead ringer mage laughed like a crazed harpy, as the other three Heroes looked dumbfounded at what she had done._

_It was like the world slowed down, as Naofumi turned his head and saw what he was hoping with all his heart not to see. There was Ghido, on his knees, a shocked look on his face… with a huge gaping hole in the middle of his body. The lightning ball literally went through his chest, where his heart was, killing him instantly. Cold shock ran through Naofumi's body as he ran towards Ghido's falling body, with one thought stuck in his mind._

"_No…! Noooo!"_

_He failed Ghido. He failed to keep his promise to his human lover Ost. He… He…_

'_**Weak… You'll always be weak…'**_

"_GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA__**AAAAAAAUGGGGHHHHH!**__"_

**.o0o.**

Tact was reveling in the pain of the Shield Hero, as he continuously sent electric shocks down Naofumi's body. He wanted him to remember, to release the power of rage that he himself had for so long. The seething power… The scorching rage… The potential within a Cardinal Hero's legendary weapon, along with the sheer power behind an immortal being...

Tact wanted it all.

But to his shock, it wasn't rage that came out of Naofumi.

"W-What the hell?!"

Instead, what he thought should have been a mighty, flaming, sparkling rage that would destroy anything in a blaze of righteous anger and hellish vengeance… came out in the form of a trickle. A mysterious green substance, coming out of Naofumi's mouth, along with a vile green energy that traveled through the whip. Tact, for once in his life, didn't know what was going on, but it was too late.

"W-Wha-? GYAAAAUGH!"

The vile energies reached his fingertips and he screamed in pain, immediately letting go of the Seven Star Whip. The green energies continued to latch onto Tact as his hand twitched and convulsed. It was like he was losing feeling in his entire body… more like eroding. Dissolving.

Despairing.

Tact fell onto one knee, the pain subsiding yet he felt himself getting weaker and weaker. What exactly was that? It was supposed to be rage! Hatred! The **Wrath Series** that the Cardinal Shield Hero should have years ago!

Instead, there was only despair. Irredeemable, absolute despair.

"You son of a bitch. You have balls, forcing me to relive that…!" Naofumi snarled, his now glowing green eyes glaring hard at Tact, who began to stand up. The Shield Hero's hands unraveled the Seven Star Whip around his neck and began to walk towards the Faublien man.

"Gr…! A minor setback… You're powerless! I'll simply try again!" Tact began to speak, his bravado betraying his errant twitch caused by that vile energy before. Grabbing his whip again, he jumped back and lashed out against Naofumi, but the whip seemed to do nothing. "W-Wha…?" Tact breathed out in surprise, before lashing out again, aiming to wrap the Whip around Naofumi's neck to shock him again. However, the whiplash was simply brushed off, not latching onto his neck at all, as if the Seven Star Whip denied access to that power; as if Tact wasn't a Hero of the Whip anymore. "I-Impossible! Wha-What the hell just-?!"

**WARNING!**

**Only those who have been crowned Hero of the aforementioned Seven Star Weapon could use its abilities and access its true power.**

That got Tact stupefied beyond belief as the message closed on his HUD. All his life, he was able to wield the Seven Star Whip, since he was crowned the Hero of the Whip. It was his title! Not just that, but every single Seven Star weapon was under his grasp as well! So why was it affecting him now? Why was this game world denying his goddamn birthright?! It didn't make sense to him!

'_**Nothing makes sense.'**_

Naofumi, seeing that Tact was weakened, realized that this was his chance. Swapping to **Fencer**, he drew out his stick and began to slash at Tact. What was once diamond skin and muscle that Naofumi couldn't bend now felt like an actual human being. His 'rapier' ran through Tact's shocked body, all the while the blonde man screamed in pain, dropping his Seven Star Whip in the process. Naofumi then swapped to **Assassin**, and continued his assault, laying the pain and the bleeding damage on Tact. It was then the Faublien man backed off when he was riddled with bloody cuts.

"G-GAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" Tact simply screamed in outrage, drawing his Seven Star Claw and Seven Star Projectile again. "Damn you! I'll kill you for that, Naofumi! **Super Acceleration!**" He cried out, speeding up once again to strike Naofumi all over with his two weapons, in which he shifted back to **Shield Hero** in kind to block. Surprisingly, his strikes felt more flimsy and weakened heavily, compared to before. Much easier to block, Naofumi thought, but the damage would add up if Tact kept at it.

"**Shield Prison!**" Naofumi commanded, and covered himself in a green steel shell once more. While doing it once was foolish enough against Tact, twice was pushing it. Naofumi braced himself against the strikes, only to feel a blade meet his throat, courtesy of Tact once again invading the insides of the **Shield Prison** before it established itself.

"You fool! If it didn't work once, how will it work twi-?!" Tact laughed as he slit the throat of Naofumi… only to hear the sounds of a bag being cut, and his nostrils being assaulted by the smell of shite. His eyebrow rose as he saw Naofumi's head fall, only to reveal that it was a wooden **Decoy** instead. The body poofed into smoke, revealing limbs of wood and straw, with a head that was actually a bag filled with animal doodoo. And also within were wads of sizzling sticks of what he could procure as dynamite. "Ohhh fu-!"

_**BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!**_

Outside, the **Shield Prison** shook violently, lighting up with constant explosions happening within, like a failed grenade. Uncovering his cloak, Naofumi hardened his eyes at the prison, knowing he outsmarted Tact. However, the lingering feeling of **Despair** continued to rampage in his heart.

'_You deserve death… Death for failing your friend.'_

'_They were right about you… You ruin everything you touch.'_

'_Ghido was the first to go, and then one by one, and soon, your new party will follow.'_

'_All you can do now is end yourself.'_

'_Die.'_

'_You should have died instead. Only then would you have purged yourself from the hell you suffered.'_

'_Darkness is the only answer for you, Shield Hero.'_

'_Die!'_

'_Why didn't you avenge us, Naofumi? We trusted you…'_

'_This can't be our Shield Hero… He should have been more heroic…'_

'_**DIE!'**_

"G-Grr…!" Naofumi's hand gripped his head, holding it as the voices continued to assault him. The more he tried to defend himself from those voices, the more it began to attack him more and more. Even he felt like his new party was walking away from him.

'_You love her more than me, don't you…?'_

'_Y-You're scaring me, Master…!'_

'_You…! How dare you treat them like that! You're no Hero at all!'_

It was then that his arms drooped down, as if he was in a drunken stupor. His empty eyes only stared at the floor. The voices… It hurt. It really did hurt. It hurt that the world would do this to him. Sending him through a turbulent war, enduring hatred, having his friends and loved ones killed, wandering through wastelands, dealing with hatred once again… and he's going through it once again.

More than anything he wanted to hurt this world back for hurting him.

'_This world… I hate it so much…'_

However, he squeezed his eyes and shook his head, shaking the heavy doubts and turbulent voices out of his head. He was in the middle of a battle. Looking around, he spotted the Seven Star Whip just lying there, and he ran to pick it up. _'Better keep it for now.'_ He thought to himself, putting it in his inventory. But still, deep within, those voices continued to clamour back, sounding just like his friends. Perhaps their souls have not moved on, and Naofumi couldn't handle it. They were his best friends… his only friends during that time...

"MaaaaasterrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

The desperate cries of Filo and Keel caught his ears as he turned to see them barreling towards him. Not just that, but he saw a bright glowing bird with flaming wings coming after them. That got him on edge. His first thought would be to use the **Dark Lion Shield** to absorb the fire, but then he looked at the **Shield Prison**, where the explosions just ended and the prison went silent.

'_A way to finish off that bastard for good.'_ He connected two and two together, and readied his Shield. "**Bear Trap Shield!**" A bear trap on a rope launched and latched onto the **Shield Prison**. Gripping it with two hands, his eyes saw Filo and Keel about to pass him.

"JUMP!" He told them, and the two of them unquestionably did so, leaping into the air, with the flaming phoenix coming towards Naofumi, who gripped the rope hard. With all his strength and a mighty battlecry, he swung the prison like a flail, right underneath Filo and Keel, and right into the firebird. Right when his moment of lucidity ended, for darkness clouded his mind.

_**KA-BOOOOOOOOOM!**_

**.o0o.**

Raphtalia pinned the princess onto the floor. Malty gritted her teeth, unable to accept defeat. Here she was, reveling in her supreme victory against the Shield Devil's demi-human scum, and yet her fire attacks did nothing. She was pinned down, beaten up, even after drinking a large amount of health potions and mana potions. The demi-human's fighting prowess became stronger and more powerful at every strike. Not even her magic and swordsmanship was able to match against the raccoon demi-human. She was completely outclassed. Absolutely. Utterly.

And she hated it with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

"YOU…! ACCURSED GIRL!" Malty screeched, her arms trapped within blocks of ice. "YOU THINK YOU'RE ABOVE ME?! I'M THE FUTURE QUEEN OF MELROMARC! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL EXTERMINATE ALL OF YOU!"

"You… You're disgusting…!" Raphtalia replied back with much venom in her voice. "You're just some black-hearted maniac! Nobody would ever let you be a queen!"

"SHUT UP! YOU DAMN DEMI-HUMAN SCUM! JUST SHUT UPPPPPP!" She continued to struggle, losing her sanity just from the idea of her loss. And Raphtalia had enough of that.

"I can't believe you…" Raphtalia muttered, before drawing her sword out, aiming at her neck. That threat of death immediately stopped her insane ramblings and screams. "Just looking at you makes me mad!"

"W-Wait! Don't! Please...!" Malty's anger fizzled away in an instant, scared at the raccoon girl, and her ice blade hanging right over her throat. Her stance was unwavering. Her eyes showed no love. Her face shadowed, creating dread. But what he said made her confused as all hell.

"I can't believe he would choose you! Even today, he would choose you!" Raphtalia growled, gritting her teeth.

"W-What? What are you-?!" Malty stammered, getting even more confused at what she meant. Within Raphtalia's mind, she recalled the photo Naofumi gave her this morning. How he held the photo in high regard. How he showed her his friends from the past. How there was a photo of him, fallen in love years ago. How he was about to start a family. How it broke her heart that Naofumi wordlessly couldn't let go. How she remembered the features of the woman in the photo.

Emerald green eyes.

Fair skin.

Royal lips.

Same facial shame.

Purple barrette.

A million-dollar smile.

Semi-long crimson hair.

The same shade of scarlet red.

And needlessly attractive.

Just.

Like.

Malty.

And it enraged Raphtalia so much. Why couldn't it be her that makes a family with Naofumi?! She was with him the entire time! And while she knew that Malty wasn't the same person as this woman that Naofumi loves so much, that would mean that killing her here was okay, right?

Right?

Right before Raphtalia was about to plunge her sword down Malty's gullet, a huge explosion rocked the entire field, making Raphtalia stumble a little, before turning her head. Her body froze like ice, when she saw a pillar of fire arise from the ground. "M-Master Naofumi…!" She muttered in worry.

"H-Hehehe…!"

Raphtalia looked down at Malty, her face twisting from a frightened look to a cruel smile. "What's so funny?"

"You… Your Shield Hero… Your master… He's probably blown to bits by now…!" Malty cackled, the ice getting to her as she chattered her teeth while cackling. Raphtalia bit her tongue and shook her head.

"No. I have faith in him! Unlike you. You have nobody!" The raccoon girl shot back and raised her sword, just about ready to behead her. However, luck was not on Raphtalia's side, as she was felt searing fire hit her side, blowing her off of Malty. The raccoon girl groaned in pain as she slowly got up, but winced at her side, burned from the fire that came out of nowhere. "Urgh...Who…?"

"**Flying Circle!"**

Suddenly a flying scythe whirled into view, and Raphtalia, still in pain, couldn't jump away from it. Trying to raise her shield, she vainfully tried to block it, hoping that would-!

"**Adloquium!**"

Suddenly, a shield appeared around her, as the Scythe struck her. The barrier held itself barely, as the Scythe bounced back, all the way into the arms of a mysterious red-haired man. From the right, the footsteps of Van Reichnott caught her attention too. "More fighters for the Pope? Who are they?"

"I dunno, but their faces look like shite!" Aurora insulted, using her own healing magic to help Raphtalia with her injury. The red-haired man only smirked at the insult, as a light blue haired young lady ran up beside him.

"Hey. You're part of the Shield Hero's party, aren't you?" The gruff yet friendly voice of the red-haired man didn't catch Raphtalia off-guard, as she pointed her sword towards him.

"What do you have against Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia warned, the ice on her **Icebrand** shimmering to enforce her point. The woman looked at her with a glare of her own.

"L'Arc asked you a question." The woman defended the scythe wielder L'Arc, but he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Therese, that's enough." L'Arc stopped her. "It's obvious that she's part of the Shield Hero's party." The man then looked at Raphtalia and Van Reichnott, who were ready to be put on the defensive. "We don't want to involve you. Where's the Shield Hero at?"

The two of them plus the fairy didn't answer, but closing in, Keel and Filo jumped in, landing next to Raphtalia, while the shadow hopped in to join them. "Raphie! Did they attack you?" Keel jumped down and asked, but Raphtalia's silence and tension was enough to turn with a glare towards L'Arc and Therese.

"Bad people…! Filo will take care of them." Filo huffed, her feet clawing the ground akin to a matador bull.

"Who are they…?" The shadow whispered to Van Reichnott, who only shook his head.

"I do not know, but the scythe…" The lord of the land muttered, narrowing his eyes. The design looked so familiar, like it was a Seven Star weapon, with the jewel in the center. Where has he seen it before?

"More of his party?" Therese asked L'Arc, both of them surprised at the sight of the mysterious giant bird. The Shield Hero tamed that?

"Hey! You took your sweet-ass time!" The voice of Tact alerted everybody, as he landed onto the ground. He only seemed to have cuts and scratches around his body, but they seemed to heal up.

"Tact! Honey~!" Malty cheered, her sultry voice getting his attention. "Come and help me please~?" However, Tact seemed to be… uninterested in her at the moment, as L'Arc and Therese only looked at the blonde man showboating with wariness.

"Tact… right?" L'Arc muttered, putting an arm between the unsettled Therese and the leering gaze of Tact. "You told us the Shield Hero is here. You better not lie to us about it."

"He's not." A new voice was made known as a tall man in a purple samurai kimono walked in. His bamboo jingasa covered his eyes, yet his long black hair strung into a ponytail was seen in the back, and scars on his pale skin were seen on the front. He walked between Tact and L'arc with his roped slippers, while slinging a katana on the back of his shoulders. His posture and facial features had an air of experience and indifference around him.

"That's where you went."

"I have saved Tact from death, something this man would have succumbed to thanks to the Shield Hero."

"Oh? Heroes that are after the Shield Demon?" The voice of Balmus was made known as he and his surplus of knights and mages came marching from behind. While eyeing the new unknown heroes, he looked at Tact with a glare. The blonde man only responded with a smile that said:

'_That's the plan, ya old man!'_

The Pope only sighed. "While I am… pleased to make your acquaintance, your assistance is not requi-."

"Spare us the denials." The tall samurai told him, as if he knew what he was going to say. Turning to the Shield Hero's party plus Van Reichnott, he points his katana towards them. "We were hired to find the Shield Hero and kill him. Tell me where he is, or else-."

"**Right here."**

That single voice caught everybody's attention, as the newcomers, the Pope and Tact turned around, only to see a pretty pissed off Naofumi. His glower was even more sour than ever, with his eyes glowing green. His party seemed to look worried at his stance and expression: Keel and Raphtalia especially as they remembered that face.

One back in Lute, where he closed himself off.

L'Arc, Therese and the samurai eyed the Shield Hero in front of them. This man, Naofumi, certainly had the look down in his green glowing eyes, something that L'Arc and the samurai seemed to take note of.

"The green-eyed monster. How I have awaited long to kill you." The edgey samurai growled out, revealing his own amber eyes glinting underneath. "I, Hero of the Vassal Katana, the great Yojimbo, will smite you, Shield Hero! Prepare to-!"

_**SMASH!**_

In a flash of green, Naofumi simply did not wait for the newly dubbed Yojimbo to talk. Instead, the Shield Hero grabbed his stick, swapped to **Holy Knight**, and attacked Yojimbo. The dubbed Hero of the Vassal Katana widened his eyes at the incoming strike coming at him at a blink of an eye, and quickly lowered his katana out of instinct just in time. However, while he didn't expect the speed, the strength was something he underestimated, sending Yojimbo far into the woods, hitting a couple of trees in the process.

"Yojimbo!" L'Arc cried out, seeing him launched like that, before feeling dread beginning to crawl in his skin as he turned his head. Therese couldn't turn around, her body shivering from the killer intent that was radiating behind her. Tact and the Pope turned their heads towards the Shield Hero, only to see a dangerous aura radiating from him.

'_W-What the hell?'_ L'Arc's heart nearly stopped cold at the sight.

'_T-This feeling… It's so heartless…'_ Therese thought to herself, chills going deep in her bones.

'_This…! This is the power of the Shield Demon?'_ Balmus's hand began to sweat, yet his resolve did not falter in the slightest.

'_This… This isn't the __**Shield of Wrath…**__ This… This is so much more…!'_Tact narrowed his eyes, the shocking increase of power unlike anything he has ever seen.

Naofumi's party also saw their leader, and their hearts even seized up at the sight.

'_A-Augghh… My heart… This pressure…'_ The Shadow stammered in her mind.

'_This… this is beyond anything… anything that I've studied!'_ Van Reichnott could only reply, his hands shaking at what unholy power Naofumi was possessing.

'_Is… Is dat… really the same Naofumi…? What happen'd to him?'_ Aurora's thoughts were running rampant, yet she wanted to hide from it all.

"B-Big Sis, I'm scared…!" Filo murmured, tears about to leak from her eyes at the sight of her master in such an alien state that it was scaring her.

"W-Wha… I… This…" Keel's eyes widened and dilated, stepping back. Her fear was coming back to her, cowering from her big sis roll to more like a scared puppy.

"M-Master… This… What caused you… to be like this…?" Raphtalia breathed out, hyperventilating with fear, at the sight of Naofumi, his stick out like a sword, with his Cardinal Shield once again transforming into a living nightmare: the **Shield of Despair**.

**[c1aSs s3l3ct3d]**

**Naofumi Iwatani; Holy Knight Lv. 40**

**[Bearer of a Century's Despair] This class now has **_**Wellspring of Despair.**_

**HP: 9999**

**MP: 9999**

**Attack: 9999**

**Defense: 9999**

**Speed: 9999**

**STR: 9999**

**VIT: 9999**

**DEX: 9999**

**INT: 9999**

**WIS: 9999**

**LUK: 9999**

"**Who wants to die first?"**

**.o0o.**

A girl in the forest widens her eyes. A dark corrupt energy, fouler than the rest of anything she has ever witnessed. Like a cry for death, a roar for damnation, an amalgamation of suffering. The girl looked to where it was coming from. Usually she would be able to stand against it, but it was like a primal fear telling her to back off. To run to the farthest corners of the world.

But something else kept her from running. A gnawing voice. A cry of pain. Someone wailing for help. And it sounds so familiar... Like a warmth from the head that was patted years ago...

_'My little Fitoria... Stay strong... even if you forget me, stand as a queen to the filolials... I'll always love you...'_

"M...Master... N-Na... Na..." The queen muttered, the name of her master on the tip of her tongue. She just couldn't remember it... Yet she was conflicted. Was that truly her master? If so... why doe she feel scared to approach? "That... can't be Master Na... Can it...?"

* * *

**Ugh. Sorry about this late one, guys. In truth, it's hard to keep up with other writers. This may be my longest story to date. Which is good! I mean, I need to do SOMETHING during the quarantine...**

**Yes, one of the antagonists will bite it in the next chapter. But not in the way you think.**

**Also, ILLUSIONIST WINS! Thank you to the kind people who voted! Do not worry, however! Berserker won't be lost!**

**Yes, L'Arc, Therese, and a newcomer comes in early! The heroes from another world come in early! You have questions I can tell.**

**Why did I bring them in? Because that is Tact's master plan. Remember that the Seven Star weapons and Vassal weapons have the power to transport between dimensions.**

**Where's Glass? She's saved for the next wave.**

**Who is this Yojimbo dude? An OC. See, the user of the Vassal Katana is nowhere to be seen in the canon of the LN. The weapon itself was stabbed in the ground near a grave and it just so happens to fly into Raphtalia's hands. So the owner could literally be anybody. So I made it my own OC. Yojimbo, a veteran samurai who resembles the Yojimbo from FF15 rather than the more popular FF10 counterpart. He seems to be the edgy one too, just like a certain black-haired individual in this show. Perhaps more will be revealed!**

**Yes, it does seem to come out of nowhere. But hey! We all need a little surprise now and then! Plus, some people were begging for L'Arc.**

**Stay tuned for more! Offer suggestions on what's gonna happen! I may or may not put it in, but I will certainly listen!**


	33. Chapter 33: Clash Part 3 Invasion

**Thank you for being patient with this one. It gave me quite a hard time to write.  
**

**I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero. I only own the OCs.**

* * *

_The World War was over. All sides have collapsed upon themselves, but in the end, Siltvelt was the winner, with the help of the Shield Hero. We cannot stay here any longer. Sooner or later they will find us, and exterminate us too. If only peaceful surrender were an option… The Shield and the demi-human soldiers have been on a warpath, ever since one of the Shield's close comrades have been 'dishonourably' murdered by one of the Tyrantress's agents, killing any Melromarcians, in suspicion of them still under her forbidden tempering._

_I probably would have acted the same way if my comrade died dishonourably._

_Thankfully, half of our untempered populace, including us, have a plan to escape to the northwest, to hide in the mountains due to the intervention of the Tyrantress's… new commander. The other half is staving off the Shield Hero to prevent further collapse, and to hopefully rebuild. _

_But in the issue of the Tyrantre-... No, Malitecia's tempering magic, we have burned up the remains of that magic, labelling any copy of it forbidden, so that we, along with our future ancestors, will never use it again. However, our research and work, which were once dedicated to discovering and researching the way to have humans learn and cast their own magic, have not been in vain. To any who discovers this final log, here are my final words._

_While we regretted serving the Tyrantress, we did not regret giving the power of magic in human hands. After all, the new Zweite magic series will continue to aid us in future endeavours. Further research in our new home will continue._

_\- Final Remaining Passage of the Destroyed Research notes of the Melromarcian Research Facility_

* * *

Balmus hated running. It was the coward's method in battles. The Three Gods never feared their enemies, and Balmus did exactly what they have done to be like them! To be them! To be a God! _Proud and judicial like the Bow Hero! Strong and tenacious like the Sword Hero! Heart and loyal like the Spear Hero!_ That's what the religion of the Three Cardinal Heroes explicitly stated; in order to achieve godhood and stand as their equal!

So why can't he _combat the destruction_ _of the Shield Demon_?! It confounded him so much!

The land exploded as tall ice pillars arose into the air, tearing apart the ground and scattering his enemies. Tempered knights and mages were launched high in the air, either frozen within the holy ice or skewered by the sword-shaped pillars. And yet more were there to support their leader who, for once, was forced to run. The pillars were tall, yet radiated with faux holy energy that made him enraged! The Shield Demon, replicating attacks that **Holy Knights** would do?! Inconceivable! Balmus could only laugh in ironic horror at the complete absurdity, yet it was happening right in front of his face.

And yet, he couldn't shake off that same feeling of… His mouth reviled at the taste of saying the word. FEAR. He can't shake off the fear that had crept in his heart when his eyes caught sight of just how visible the sickly green power was slowly leaking out. That enraged him; he, the High Priest of the Three Heroes Church, _fearing a demonic entity? _Fearing _something_ other than the Three Heroes?!

"Accursed demon…! Mocking us with his imitation abuse of holy magicks…! How low will the Shield stoop?!" Balmus snarled, his hands shaky. His benevolent face, even in the throes of peril, broke to display the righteous rage. How dare the Shield imitate the pure Gods of this land! How dare the Shield make him feel powerless.

His heart sought vengeance. With his own limited followers stepping up, now numbering in a few dozens compared to the hundreds he had before, they all began to feel their mana drain for his cause. But before he could act too rashly, L'Arc, being launched backwards from an attack, crashed near Balmus, causing him to break away from his rage for a moment.

"Damn… he is strong!" L'Arc got up, shaking off the pain before a smirk. "But that only makes me more excited to fight him!" He was going to jump back, but Balmus's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Stand back, and tell your companions this: my spells, while powerful enough to smite the Shield, will destroy you too if you get caught in it." Balmus warned L'Arc, but he shook his head with a smile.

"No way! Not when this is starting to get interesting! Just leave it to us!" L'Arc responded with a cocksure grin, jabbing his chest with his thumb. "After all, we're Heroes! We're a match against the Shield Hero, and we have to kill him for the good of our world! You can just sit back tight and clean up the mess, if you want." Those words made the Pope's hands shake in sheer annoyance as he watched the newcomer join back into the fight. Can't they all see that Biscas T. Balmus, the Pope of the Three Heroes Church, the righteous man closest to the Gods that watch the Earth, can easily match against the Shield Hero?! He has the Scepter of the Three Heroes, a gift from the Gods themselves! A large following who are willing to give their lives for the greater cause! It's what the people need! The Three Gods, almighty as they are, can't defend the world themselves.

It's why people like himself need to stand up. It's the whole foundation on why the Three Heroes Church was made in the first place!

The Pope heaved his breaths, before relenting, letting those three fools handle the Shield Demon. They can wear him down long enough for him to land a finishing blow. In fact, Balmus's eyes then landed on the Shield Hero's party, and his scepter began to glow with mana.

**.o0o.**

The duel within the middle of the ice citadel continued to escalate. L'Arc smiled the whole way through, continuously barraging and swinging his Vassal Scythe like an axe and a windmill, while Yojimbo swung his Vassal Katana with the precision of a professional and the strength of a madman, if what his furrowed eyebrows told anybody who saw his face. Both of them attacked in tandem, weaving their attacks expertly, but Naofumi, within silence, simply dodged, parried or blocked them all without exuding any sort of effort. Finally, he had enough, and simply swiped at them, causing L'Arc to block the attack with his scythe, with great effort.

"Urrgghhhhh…!" L'Arc growled out, his Vassal weapon holding back the attack with great effort. It felt like he was holding back a thousand bulls, and it was only by an instant did Naofumi flick his wrist lazily, making him fly into the sky, from the deception amount of strength from swing. A flash of steel came from the left and Yojimbo came dashing in, his katana aimed at Naofumi's neck.

_**KLANG!**_

Naofumi's shield-arm clashed against the katana's strike. While strong enough to cut steel, it felt like a diamond wall. "Grr…! **Oka!**" Yojimbo unleashed his own skill, as he raised his Vassal Katana and slashed against Naofumi's body. Cherry blossoms appeared out of thin air when the Katana struck, a beautiful display, clashing against a grotesque distortion. But it wasn't just for show; it came with a plethora of invisible sword strikes on the Shield Hero. However, Naofumi didn't even need to block, as the strikes, quick and sleek as silver, were proving ineffective as it bounced off his body. It was like the skin was made up of the densest of steel.

"**Weak…"** Naofumi muttered, his voice low, yet threatening. His green eyes shined on Yojimbo, who reared his blade with both hands.

"Then taste my unleashed rage! **Mangetsu!**" Yojimbo shouted, his voice laced with a tiny shred of hatred. He jumped into the air, his Vassal Katana glowing silver, before slamming on Naofumi, arching in the shape of a crescent moon. But once again, it felt like hitting a brick wall with a flimsy foam sword. Naofumi simply said nothing in reaction to it, instead opting to counterattack. He raised his shield, signalling an attack, making Yojimbo narrow his eyes and back flip, ready to block and parry the attack coming from the front.

"**Holy…"**

Yojimbo only blinked, feeling the wind shift, and suddenly, the Shield Hero wasn't in front of him anymore. Where did he-?

"**...Shield Bash."**

Yojimbo was so ready to block the attack in the front, but he wasn't prepared to take it from behind. He felt the mutated shield-arm crash into his head, like a speeding jet crash into his head, as a wordless scream left his agape mouth. The samurai dropped his blade, holding his concussed cranium in pain, as Naofumi pointed his stick towards his assailant.

"**You seem to forget who you're dealing with, **_**hero**_**."**

The Shield Hero's voice spat out the word 'hero', like it was poison to the tongue. Yet it chilled Yojimbo to the bone, as the incantation began.

"**Seven shadows cast, seven fates foretold."**

"Not today!" The voice of L'Arc came out of nowhere as it once again spun into a winding spiral and crashed into Naofumi, only to realize he didn't budge nor flinch. "H-Huh? Even his skin feels like diamonds!" The man fell to the ground, his arms aching a little from the ineffective attack, only to widen his eyes at the sight of red swords appearing behind Naofumi.

"**But at the end of the broken path, lies death and death alone!**

**"All-encompassing power of the gem, hear my plea! I am Therese Alexanderite! Lend me your power to rescue my friends from certain death!"** Another incantation by Therese began on the side, as the two men began to feel themselves being pulled slightly.

**"Northswain's Strike."**

The swords pulled back before launching towards the two men, just after the second incantation was finished. "**Bejeweled Gravity Pull!**" Thankfully, L'Arc and the stunned Yojimbo were pulled by an unseen force towards the side, courtesy of Therese and her floating amethyst, as Naofumi's swords fired straight ahead, shredding and running through whatever was in front of them; from empty houses, corpses, crops, even the ground itself was completely destroyed wherever the swords touched. The power behind the **Northswain's Strike **was unbelievable, as Therese and L'Arc witnessed it. "W-What power…!" Therese only breathed out in horror from the destruction, like she was witnessing a bloody fuller. L'Arc only narrowed his eyes at him.

"Tsk… his power is unbelievable, but he's not unkillable... But you're right, Yojimbo." L'Arc responded, spotting the glowing green eyes of Naofumi, who slowly turned his head like some sort of terminator. "He really does look like the green-eyed monster, to what he's talking about."

"Then he is mine to kill, for I will behead him." Yojimbo dizzily spoke up, shaking off his head injury. "No matter what, my blade will feast on his tribute of blood!" The samurai ran in, attempting to strike Naofumi down once more, this time with Therese joining in to assist.

"Well, if it makes Yojimbo happy, but when the time comes, don't leave me in the dust…!" L'Arc replied, his weapon beginning to spin like a cyclone, waiting for his chance to attack.

"**Oka! Mangetsu!**"

"**All-encompassing power of the gem, hear my plea! I am Therese Alexanderite! Lend me your power to burn my enemies into cinders! ****Bejeweled Ruby Blaze!**"

Not that it mattered to Naofumi, as he only looked at them with disinterest, as the attacks simply bounced off. The fireballs felt like a spring breeze and the katana strikes were ineffective, even when aimed at the usual weak spots on a human being; and he was beginning to get tired of it.

"**It won't save you. Nothing will save you."**

Naofumi's words continued to ring to their hearts, but it didn't make the three of them falter. Yet they had to think of a strategy fast, as they began to see energy building up once more. "Tsk…! Therese, channel your lightning unto me!" Yojimbo requested, as he began to run. His Vassal Katana transformed into what looks to be an ancient seven-branched metal blade. Therese then began to channel her own mana, the gem on her bangle flashing blue and crackled with lightning.

"**All-encompassing power of the gem, hear my plea! I am Therese Alexanderite! Lend me your power to empower my friend!** **Bejeweled Thunderstorm!**" She called out her skill, the lightning traversing along her fingertips and channeled into Yojimbo's transformed blade, as it shined blue. Naofumi only raised his shield, only to feel the wind pick up from above. His eyes squinted lazily at the sight of the sun, along with a man in the air, about to land his own attack.

"Don't count me out! **Flying Circle!**" L'Arc shouted, his spinning scythe, now charged up immensely after a bit of time, landed on the intended target. Naofumi only lazily raised his grotesque shield-arm, only to discover that the force behind it, along with the pain it was inflicting, made him buckle and blink in surprise. Even with his impenetrable defense, the attack was still hurting him?

"**You…"**

"**Shoha!**" Yojimbo roared out, swinging his blade right on Naofumi, who only parried with his stick. However, the corrupting Shield Hero couldn't seem to find an opening to strike back. He could feel the power of the Vassal Weapon's empowered strength brimming near his hand every time Yojimbo struck. Yet his mind couldn't seem to make it out on how...

"**You… You're overcoming… my despair…? Inconceivable..."**

"**All-encompassing power of the gem, hear my plea! I am Therese Alexanderite! Lend me your power and destroy the Hero's unshakable defense!** **Bejeweled Armor Break!**" The voice of Therese cried out from behind the two men, with blue shards firing like missiles, landing right on Naofumi's body, and breaking Naofumi's stick, destroying any chance to counterattack. The crystal energy spikes landed on his sides and shoulders, seeing as they pierce armour and defenses. The ensuing combo of attacks finally broke through, as Naofumi stumbled backwards in abject surprise.

"No hard feelings!" L'Arc offhandedly spoke out, as the **Flying Circle **landed on Naofumi's waist, slashing gruesomely like a chainsaw. Naofumi let out a gasp of pain, as a heterogeneous mixture of crimson blood and a celadon green liquid splattering out of his wounded waist. A giant gash was visible through his armor, as Naofumi trembled in pain.

**"**G-**G**u**h**.**.**.**!"**

But they were not done. When the **Flying Circle** began to return back to L'Arc's hand, Yojimbo's Vassal Katana was already on Naofumi, slashing wherever he could. "Taste all of my rage, monster!" Yojimbo's words spilled forth, satisfaction laced in them as he began his assault. More red and green blood came out of Naofumi's wounds as the samurai's empowered blade slashed on his arms, legs and chest. And Naofumi could do nothing about it.

The pain… it was something so alien and yet something he was so used to. He should be used to the pain; after all, he's the Shield Hero! And yet this one wasn't like the fight against the Cerberus, or the Dark Chimera, or even when Raphtalia slashed his hand, drawing blood. This was different; in his mind, he was alone. Alone in this new, alien world. Alone with his despair. He had nothing… nothing _but _despair and this broken Shield… He should have relied on it more to utterly destroy his enemies.

It made him invincible. It made his stats rise to impossible heights. And yet… they were overwhelming him.

It was something Naofumi cannot fathom. Their power and determination… overpowering his own?

"Farewell, demon!" Yojimbo spoke, his katana swinging towards Naofumi's neck. A few more inches and his head will fall with honour. Or at least, the Shield Hero will choke on his blood and die a painful pathetic death. However, in the blink of an eye, the stunned Shield Hero refocused his eyes and hardened his stance once more.

"**Holy Shield Bash."**

"What?!" The final swing of the Vassal Katana simply bounced off of Naofumi's** Shield of Despair** swinging in return. Yojimbo recoiled back, as it felt like hitting a diamond wall, as the Shield Hero then gripped the samurai's throat, lifting him up into the air.

"**Pathetic."**

Naofumi simply stated, seeing the shock and the burning hatred in Yojimbo's eyes. With the blood and wounds caked on the Shield Hero, he was becoming more and more like a monster. Despite being held by the throat, Yojimbo continued to struggle and fight back. He kept swinging his katana desperately on Naofumi's arm, but it was futile. His katana depowered at the wrong time, with the skin on the Shield Hero's arm becoming hard as diamonds once more.

"**What's wrong, little one? Weren't you going to unleash your rage?"**

The grip got tighter, closer and closer to crushing Yojimbo's windpipe. Yet the samurai stayed defiant even in death. "I'll… kill… you…!" The samurai managed to squeak out in pain. Naofumi only shook his head and laughed.

"**You call that rage? More like an embarrassment. Whoever died in your arms doesn't matter. People die all the time so get over it."**

That got the samurai seeing red. He tried to scream, swing, slash, growl, do anything to hurt the man in front of him to no avail. And Naofumi could feel it deep within the man in front of him: a deep raging fire that he once remembered having. It was... strangely nostalgic in a way. The Shield Hero then saw L'Arc and Therese, wanting to attack, yet with Yojimbo in the way, they were hesitant.

"**What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack me and save your friend? Or is he really that precious to you?"**

L'Arc and Therese grit their teeth, not knowing how to get around hitting the Shield Hero, but not hitting Yojimbo and possibly killing him. "Fight fair, dammit!" L'Arc shouted, with Naofumi only smirking.

"**Fight fair, he says. This is a war, not a-. G**A**C**K**!"**

The Shield Hero coughed out, his eyes dilating hard. His body began to stiffen up, as the power of the **Holy Knight **began to fade away. His own **Shield of Despair** began to recede itself as the tubes of green disconnected and the eye on the shield began to close. Did he stay too long on the **Shield of Despair**? Or did he push himself too hard? Naofumi's hand let go of the slumping Yojimbo, who coughed heavily from the chokehold, and jumped out of the way of L'Arc's spinning scythe. Therese ran to help nurse Yojimbo's throat while L'Arc readied another **Flying Circle**. "Seems like your power-up just ran out!"

"Y-Y**ou…**! **Damn **you…!" Naofumi growled, jumping out of the way once more of L'Arc's strike, before suddenly, as soon as he hit the ground, his body felt intense gravity immobilizing him onto the earth. "W-**W**h**a**t**?**!"

"**Instant Blast!**" The voice of Aultcray caught Naofumi's ears, along with a blast of energy hitting his side, sending him flying. Searing pain erupted on his wounds scraping on the ground, making a bloody streak, as Naofumi crashed into the ground, making a cloud of dust appear as he landed. L'Arc looked to the side, and saw the old King of Melromarc, still holding his daughter on one arm, and the Seven Star Staff on the other. "Allow me to assist on taking down the Shield Hero." He declared, his eyes never leaving the cloud of smoke. However, the answer from L'Arc caught him off-guard.

"What? No way! We got this!" L'Arc responded, which got Aultcray stunned.

"W-Wha-?! But this is a Cardinal Hero! There's no way you could-!"

"Trust me. You're better off hobbling somewhere else, old man."

"Old man?! I'm not that old! I uhh… The gray is natural!"

"Yeah right, _old man_. Especially when there is a child on your chest? Yeah. Definition of old man."

"WHAT?! How dare you! She's my daughter!"

"And? What about her?" Yojimbo commented coldly, retreating back to his battle stance in a calm fashion. "Holding a dead body on your person is a liability in battle." That got him a shocked look from Therese, a cold look from L'Arc, and a defiant look from Aultcray.

"She's not dead." Aultcray firmly stood his ground. "I refuse to believe that…! She's just unconscious!"

"Then leave. This is our battle. You clinging onto her shows weakness."

"She is what drives me to fight! My daughter gives me strength!"

"More like she makes you act foolishly." Yojimbo's incredibly callous words made Aultcray grit his teeth. "You want justice against the Shield Hero? Throw her aside."

"I would never!" The King growled out, holding Melty within her arms. Even with all the battling going on, he could still hear her… breathing… sleeping…

'_F-Father…?'_ He could hear Melty call out in her sleep… or perhaps it was his own mind speaking those words to ease him.

"That's enough, both of you!" The voice of Therese cut their argument for good. "Yojimbo, you have your own vengeance to focus on! Leave others out of it!" The long-haired woman then turned and bowed her head hastily towards Aultcray. "I'm sorry about my friend... and about your daughter, but we must focus on the bigger threat here." Yojimbo was about to interject, but a glare from the young woman made the words stay in his throat. It was better to not put himself in a deeper hole. Plus, she had a point; the Shield Hero needs to die.

"R-Right. The Shield Hero will die toda-!" Aultcray began to declare, but suddenly stopped himself, as if he made a mistake on an oath. It was how he was powering his Seven Star Staff after all, in his mind at least. L'Arc and Therese raised their eyebrows at the odd action until the old Wise King cleared his throat, not letting go of the unconscious Melty. "Pardon me. I will _protect_ the two of you. But not your cheeky samurai friend." Yojimbo only scoffed.

The group of Heroes then noticed the clouds dispersing and the dark killing intent returning. Aultcray, L'Arc, Therese and Yojimbo readied their weapons and prepared for an offensive yet they were surprised that his bloody wounds were all gone. Only blood stains were on his armor and cape.

"Tsk… Forgot that he could use potions…!" L'Arc chastised himself as he saw the broken potion flask in his hand; a hand that has transformed once more to the grotesque **Shield of Despair**.

"He's still vulnerable. If you were able to break him, then…!" Aultcray responded, but didn't get a chance to finish as a blur as fast as the wind dashed towards the enemy.

Ahead went Yojimbo, with his Vassal Katana ready to strike once more as he ran to close the distance within a blink of an eye towards the cloud of dust. "Yojimbo! No!" L'Arc called out, seeing him run blindly towards the enemy.

He was most likely unaware of how resilient Naofumi was, as the three of them heard a cry of pain as Yojimbo was launched backwards and landed on his back, groaning in pain. Two slashes from the bicep of the arms, across the waist and down to the hip, shaped in an X, cut deep down to the bone. Therese ran to help check his wounds, noticing that the wounds required immediate attention.

"**Damn me… that actually hurt…"**

The two men still standing turned to Naofumi, looking healthy just as before. This time, instead of a stick in his hand, it looked to be a bloody arm, ripped out of a stray knight from the Three Heroes Church, down to the socket. His hand gripped the blood-darkened bone, the red staining his palms and fingers.

"You…!" Aultcray shook in anger at the being in front of him. "I've waited decades for this moment. I will have my vengeance against you, Shield Hero! For the precious lives you've taken away from me!"

"**And?"**

That simple word was mockery to the old man's ears and it pushed him over the edge. He raised his Seven Star Staff, and the spell came up in an instant without the need of an incantation, all to destroy what was in front of him.

"**Drifa Ground Da-!**"

A flash of darkness engulfed Aultcray's vision for a split second, only to see Naofumi right in front of him, the arm, sharp as a rapier for some reason, aimed right at his neck. The old man froze, fear gathering inside of his heart… just like years ago.

'_Your sister… we can't find her… We can only assume… that she is dead.'_

"Old man!" L'Arc cried out, slamming his scythe on Naofumi's shoulder. It would have hurt, if the Shield Hero didn't use his ability first.

"**Pulsating Thorns."**

The attack bounced back to the user. Instead of Naofumi suffering from a cut from the Vassal Scythe, L'Arc felt pain erupt on his right shoulder, a gash appearing on top of it. "Gaaaugh!" L'Arc gripped his shoulder in pain, hissing out. How in the world did that happen?

"L'Arc!" Therese cried out, while she was still treating Yojimbo, seeing L'Arc fall to his knee and getting kicked away by Naofumi, before turning his attention towards the speechless King, who was astounded by his power.

"**I can see it in your eyes… You hate me, don't you?"**

"Y-You…! I…I'll…!" Aultcray gritted his teeth in rage, yet he couldn't form complete sentences. He wanted so badly to attack, but his instincts told him to flee. His mind, body, heart and soul screamed at him to run. And yet, one look at Melty, the unconscious little girl who shivered at the aura of Naofumi, made him stand his ground. Naofumi only scoffed at his defiance, his grip not relaxing at all, as he reveled in the new class he shifted to. A sacrifice he can live with.

**[c1aSs s3l3ct3d]**

**Naofumi Iwatani; F̸̥̀e̶̛͇n̷͖͐c̷͊ͅe̴̞͗ṟ̵̂ Lv. 40**

**[Bearer of a Century's D̴̠͛ḛ̵̈́s̶̗̾p̴̙͘a̴͖̾i̷̻͊r̵͉͝] This class now has **_**Wellspring of **__****D̴̠͛ḛ̵̈́s̶̗̾p̴̙͘a̴͖̾i̷̻͊r̵͉͝**.**_

**HP: 9999**

**MP: 9999**

**Ǎ̵͉t̷̛̻t̴͎͆a̴̭͋ċ̵̦k̷̩̈: 9999**

**Defence: 9999**

**Speed: 9999**

**S̴̾ͅT̶͎̈R̴̻͋: 9999**

**VIT: 9999**

**D̷͉͘Ȩ̸̐Ẍ̸͈́: 9999**

**INT: 9999**

**WIS: 9999**

**LUK: 9999**

"**Then hate me more. Because in the end, it will all be o̶̙͐v̷̖͑e̵̡͠r̵̳̓.̶̣́"**

**.o0o.**

"Rrraagh!"

Continuous slashes and hard-hitting pummels from Raphtalia and Keel landed against Balmus's barrier, who only just stood there with a smirk. They could not dent the barrier now without their **Aura** buff, compared to what Keel and Filo were able to do before WITH their **Aura** buff.

"Dammit! We were able to break that barrier before, so why can't we break it now?!" Keel whined, gritting her teeth. She massaged her fists, which stung from hitting an immovable wall that she broke a while ago. So what was wrong now?

"Hmph! Without your precious Shield Demon, your powers have weakened." Balmus explained in an arrogant voice, his scepter now charging up with mana. Raphtalia and Keel didn't want to admit it, but he was right. Their **Aura** buff seemed to have worn out.

"But the Shield Hero's party isn't alone!" Van Reichnott's voice countered the High Priest's words, readying his magical tome in front of him, a sigil glowing and rotating with mana. "**As the lord of this land, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and destroy my foe's ironclad bulwark! Zweite Defense Null!**"

A red orb lashed out onto the shield that Balmus had around him, and it shattered easily. Raphtalia saw an opening and, after activating **High Quick** from her sword, dashed like the wind towards the High Priest… only for another barrier to reform, blocking her strike.

"W-What…?! That was…!" Raphtalia could only gape at the speed of how strict the timing was, with Balmus readying to strike back with an imitation Cardinal Sword.

"Prepare to be cleansed, foul bea-." The priest began, but instead of inflicting pain, he felt stinging pain on his shoulders as two knives were driven into him. Courtesy of the shadow perched on his shoulders, who infiltrated his defenses before it closed up.

"Not this time, I daresay!" She growled out in anger, continuously slashing her other blades on Balmus's vital areas. Yet with each injury she laid on him, the wounds just kept healing.

"Graaugh! Off of me, vile traitor!" Balmus shouted at the woman, throwing her off after a few slashes. Yet before she could go back and infiltrate through the barrier once more, a group of knights ran in, their bodies glowing golden, to defend the High Priest.

"Kill the traitors!"

"Defend thy Eminence!"

Their battlecries rang in the air as they charged. They weren't numerous but due to the golden glow that coursed their bodies, they were not easily dispatched. However, Raphtalia, Keel, Van Reichnott, Aurora, the shadow, and Filo were ready. Raphtalia raised her glowing sword, Keel rubbed her gauntlets together, Van Reichnott and Aurora mana together, the shadow pulled out special tags that began to glow with fire, and Filo huffed like a bull and bent her fowl legs.

"**As the lord of this land, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and confuse my foes who bar my path with steel! Zweite Confusion All!**"

"**Radiant Moonstrike!**"

"**Dragon Thunderclap!**"

**"Pyre Seal!"**

The confusion spell hit first, a burst of light breaking up the formation of the knights. They screamed, confounded by the dizzying spell, before being struck by lightning and ice at the same time, pain coursing through their bodies. Spell tags then appeared and attached themselves to the knights armor before Filo charged right in.

"**FILO CANNONBALL!**"

The massive bird, entire body and all, ran and collided with the troops like a living cannonball, ultimately crushing some of them, and the others knocked back far. And right after Filo collided into them, they exploded and burst into flames, killing them in their own immolation of flame thanks to the Shadow. All that were left were the mages behind Balmus, along with Balmus himself.

"Accursed demonic beings…! Vile heretics...!" The High Priest seethed, shaking to himself, seeing how his options were starting to become limited. His guardians are down, he only has around two dozen mages and his options for attacking are limited due to the mana the replica weapon of the Cardinal Heroes uses up. If they hit the barrier, then the mana would be even more scarce and he would be defenseless.

And Balmus hated feeling defenseless; being able to do nothing as his enemies advanced.

However, luck began to save him as from the sky, a great shadow emerged from the sky, which looked to be a flying gunship, the size of a shipping container. Cannons adorned its sides, with a cockpit filled with windows on the front. Propellers and jets were propelling and lifting the behemoth of a vessel, along with a hull and a massive door that allowed passage. What stood out, however, was the symbol of Faubley printed on the side.

"W-What is that…?! A giant metal box?" Filo stammered, seeing something that was even bigger than herself.

"I've never seen something like that before…!" Raphtalia took a step back, her eyes widening at the sight.

"An airship… Faublien-made." Van Reichnott narrowed his eyes, before getting the attention of his allies. "Everyone, come to me! Aurora, erect a barrier!"

"I already know! Now supply yur mana, ya shite!" Aurora snapped back, as both of them began to channel their mana around them.

"**Armour of life, block all strife! Veil of light, halt their might! Sacred Soil!**"

A barrier immediately formed around the group, in the shape of crystalline tessellations, before the cannons from the gunship aimed downward and fired. The rounds would have killed them, or at least seriously injured them, if not for the barrier Van Reichnott and Aurora projected around them. The strikes landed around them, blocking them in a cover of dust before unveiling them to be safe and sound.

"Aye, those basturds! I knew dere were sumfin' fishy 'bout dem!" Aurora cursed, before her fairy skin felt heat from behind. Strengthening the **Sacred Soil **once more, the **Scholar** and his fae companion blocked what looked to be a **Drifa Hellfire **hitting them. The sheer power behind the spell was felt by the shockwave that came with it. Raphtalia, Keel and Filo instantly turned their heads, spotting the one who fired the spell, one who made Raphtalia glare angrily once more.

"You…! How dare you leave me out of this fight!" Malty growled, her hands and legs still a little shaky from the cold shackles, but her anger was still flaming hot. Instantly, she began to charge another spell, despite the spell taking a humongous toll on her mana. "I am the future queen of Melromarc! I won't be denied until your bodies lay on the field! **Drifa Hellfire!**"

Another blazing dense ball of hellfire launched itself from her hands to the **Sacred Soil**, which deflected the first one, but wasn't strong enough to survive a second one. But before it could even fight back against the barrier, Raphtalia swung her **Icebrand** a few times, sending waves of ice against the fireball before it exploded harmlessly. Malty looked deterred for a moment at the sight of Raphtalia's hardened face.

'_How… How can this demi-human scum render my spell into nothingness?! How?! There must be a cheat! A demonic incantation I'm not familiar with! The Shield Hero did something to her! It's something, damnit! BUT WHAT?!'_ The vain princess roared to herself in her mind, struggling to find a solution to even the odds. Anger filled her veins as she fished out another mana potion for herself to drink. _'Damn her! Damn her and her friends! Damn that Shield Hero! Damn them! Damn them! DAMN THEM ALL! I am the future queen! I will exterminate him! Him and his lesser demi-human scum!'_

'**Yes! Let it rage inside! The blood of the future queen of Melromarc flows through you!'**

A sword slamming into her own royal blade snapped her out of her irate thoughts as Raphtalia pushed hard against Malty, who was struggling to hold her own. Rage transformed into desperation, as her abilities with a sword were nothing to Raphtalia's own skills, as after a few sword swings, she found her blade thrown onto the side. Next thing she knew, the princess was knocked to the floor, with Raphtalia's blade pointing right at her throat.

"Y-You… Don't you dare…! Do you know who I am?!" Malty warned, with Raphtalia narrowing her eyes.

"Of course I know! And I'm done playing games! This is all the demi-humans you've killed!" Raphtalia declared, pushing in her frozen sword towards Malty's neck. The princess could only grip the sword, despite the sub-zero touch and the blood coming out from her skin gripping the blade. But, as if the stars were aligned for this very moment, a shadow came from above, making Raphtalia stop. Above her, in the shining sun, a figure jumped out of the gunship and made a mad, speeding dive towards the pair. One of them smiled with glee, with the other widening her eyes in shock. But a third came running towards the two, spotting the shadow to be a man.

A man with an axe about to cave Raphtalia's head.

Before the attack connected however, a full-power jump kick from Keel slammed onto the man's side, throwing him off course onto the ground just nearby. With a grunt, the man landed with a thud on the ground, which was just enough of a distraction for Malty to kick away Raphtalia, her hands wreathed in flame once more. "**Zweite Fire Squall!**" Flaming squall-shaped fireballs charged towards the stunned raccoon demi-human, landing on her body. Yet it only felt like insignificant sparks to Raphtalia, once again due to her heavy fire resistance, as she shook it off and stood back up, with the help of Keel.

"Damnit… A stupid kick, throwing me off? Preposterous! And you got your buttmud footprint on my new one-of-a-kind leather jacket too!" A familiar irate voice caught their attention as the man who was diving from the gunship was none other than Tact, who began to walk towards the group, an ornate axe in his hands. His clothes showed no signs of cuts and damages on it.

"Hmph, well you're a lot weaker than Master Naofumi made you out to be." Keel replied, making Tact's eyebrows furrow and twitch. It made him angry, because she was right. For some reason… a level 40 Pugilist able to push him aside? To inflict pain?! Someone who is level 300+?! Impossible!

Besides, he was still so much more powerful than these whelps.

"Hmph. I only let you kick me. It wouldn't be any fun seeing you die too quickly." Tact rebuffed, his traditional smirk coming back to save face.

"Lord Tact… You saved me…" Malty, who stood up onto her two feet, smiled sweetly at her hero, before sharply glaring at the Shield Hero's party.

"I'd never leave your beautiful self behind, my dear Malty! That's not how this true hero rolls!" Tact smiled, doing his usual arrogant smirk, looking at Malty while showboating his own guns and handsomeness to her. However, a small ache of pain zapped in his head the moment he saw Malty smile… something about that seemed familiar about it.

"Prince Tact Arusahorun of Faubley…? But why is he here?" Van Reichnott muttered, feeling the wound that he made on his chest, the phantom pain still there.

"He is nephew to King Aultcray of Melromarc. But I daresay it's not because they are family." The shadow responded curtly, her grip tightening on her daggers. Van Reichnott could only let the questions linger in his head._ 'What was he doing here? Why would he assist Melromarc? What did he hope to gain? Faubley was already technologically and militaristically more powerful than any kingdom in the world, so why the allegiance with the Pope?'_

"I have my own reasons. But 'killing you' is not my job." Tact told off the shadow, who rolled her eyes. However, the prince continued, smirking and eyeing the two wary demi-human women in front of him. "But you two… You piqued my interest. You two seem to have potential to be part of my little group of lovelies. I'm guessing you two don't want a spot in my harem, eh?"

"Eww! Don't know what it is, but it sounds gross." Keel replied out loud, looking disgusted.

"Tsh… Fine then. But, like toys, you'll play by _my_ rules." Tact finished the exchange of words, before he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. The gunship seemed to see his signal, and fired again on Van Reichnott, the shadow, and Aurora, causing the **Scholar** and the fairy to summon their **Sacred Soil** once more. The two demi-humans turned around, seeing dust come out of the explosions from the ground, but the shadow called out to them.

"Do not worry about us! Go after Tact, I daresay!" The shadow called out.

"Big sis! We can handle that big box!" Filo's voice was heard amidst the bombing. The big round bird let the shadow on its back, with what looks like explosive tags and bombs on her person, and jumped high in the sky. Raphtalia and Keel wanted to protest, but a few balls of powerful light appeared around Van Reichnott and were launched towards the gunship, hitting specifically at their cannons. Seeing the destructive gunfire cease for now, the two demi-humans turned back to the prince and the princess.

"So you're Tact of Faubley… Master Naofumi warned us about you." Raphtalia muttered, readying her blade, which only made Tact smirk.

"Did he now?" Tact only chuckled in an ironic manner, before outright laughing at the woman. Raphtalia and Keel looked unsettled with the laughter, along with the rest of the party, until he suddenly stopped and looked at the two of them with a knowing glance. "Laughable… Becoming for the Shield Hero to use the two-bit whores he picked off the streets to do his dirty work. Clearly my station is better than his will ever be."

The prince only shook his head from the situation, only to meet with two of the harshest glares he has ever seen. Keel growled like an angry wolf as her eyes sparked with rage, but Raphtalia's eyes were empty and cold, like staring into an empty howling abyss. Sure, this was nothing new for Tact, as he got this from every one of his enemies within his lifetime, but for some reason, Raphtalia's eyes was like feeling a cold knife twisting in his gut. And he lost his signature smirk as he blocked both an electrical punch from Keel, and the freezing slash from Raphtalia.

"How dare you!" The two demi-human women roared, letting loose a flurry of punches and a storm of slashes on Tact, who was beginning to have a hard time blocking them fully as he felt himself getting pushed back. Another impossibility, Tact thought to himself. They shouldn't even be pushing him back. The sheer force behind them shouldn't be pushing him backwards. They were candles compared to him: the flames of hell itself!

And yet… were they just stronger than him? Did he underestimate them? Or… did he somehow get weaker?

He began to push them back with his own strength. Despite feeling like he was weakened for some reason, he was still leagues stronger and faster than Raphtalia and Keel.

"L-Lord Tact!" Malty cried out in worry, but Tact simply ignored her. Now was not the time for her words. He swung the Seven Star Axe around in a circle to throw the two demi-human women off. Reeling himself backwards to slam his axe down on Raphtalia, whom he sees as a bigger threat, he attempts to throw his entire body down and crush the demi-human in front of him… before a shock in his nerves threw him off during the action, making him lose grip on his axe. A jolt of green energy ran through his body, sending nothing but pain and spasms into his system.

"G-Grr…! W-Wha…?" The blonde man muttered, as his head began to ache. A voice echoed in his head as he was getting shocked. Where was it coming from?

'_**Yes~. You are my sworn. My harbinger of conquest~.'**_

Raphtalia ducked underneath the thrown Seven Star Axe and, seeing Tact defenseless, she slashed him across the chest. Unlike Naofumi's attempt to slash against his body, now the wound cut deep and froze over, sending him into the air. Keel followed up, sending a **Power Dunk** on the man, shattering the ice and sending him unceremoniously to the floor in pain.

"L-Lord Tact!" Malty could shout. It was all she could really do. Foolishly she relied on Tact's strength too much to really do anything to assist and she was going to pay for it. Malty couldn't beat one demi-human. What chance did she have against both? But in her mind, she still had an ace in the hole. She tried to dig into her own inventory, trying to fish out a special potion to dig out.

"No way! **Shoulder Tackle!**" Keel cried out, and charged in a blinding speed, knocking the breath and spittle out of her and launching her backwards, sending her painfully to a tree. Her pack got separated, with potions, gold, jewelry and other trinkets flying out to the side.

"G-Grr…" Malty moaned in pain, before her eyes noticed the potion, a special **Hero's Elixir of Life**, on the floor. However, a wave of ice came between the princess and the elixir, cutting her off thanks to Raphtalia having the princess at swordpoint, unable to move away unless she risked getting killed.

"I have you now." Raphtalia's words and her **Icebrand** chilled her to the bone. Her eyes were still displaying that hollow rage that Malty still doesn't have the full context to understand.

"Y-You… You don't have the gall to kill me, s-scum…!" Malty chattered, snarling in anger. She tried everything, from spells to swordplay. Even using a special potion to power her up, but even that did nothing. Now she had nothing.

And she hated that. How she hated that.

"You're right."

Raphtalia spoke those words, something that sounded unbelieving to Malty, as the raccoon girl lowered her sword. Keel breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. Raphtalia was too much of a kind-hearted soul to kill haphazardly. But Malty only smirked at her supposed cowardice and doubled down.

"Hah…! I-I knew it! You're weak! Unprivileged! You scum can't even kill someone you hate!" Malty countered spitefully, taunting the raccoon girl, yet the fear was still in her voice. Keel growled at that statement.

"You shut your mouth! She doesn't have to kill yo-!"

_**SCHLASH!**_

A slashing sound was heard, echoing throughout the forest. Nobody moved, until a click from Raphtalia sheathing her sword was heard. As soon as Keel heard the click, she turned to the stoic Raphtalia and then at the laying Malty.

"I don't have to kill you…"

Keel heard Raphtalia's voice only heard Malty scream in unfathomable pain, as she fell to the floor. The pain stung and burned like cold fire, as her body spasmed uncontrollably. Her screams were oddly satisfying to Raphtalia, something unlike her at all. As someone who didn't want to make Malty's death quick, she aimed not for the head...

"...but you won't hurt any more people."

...but right on her legs. Malty's legs were indeed reduced to frozen stumps, with blood curdling out in frozen red clumps. Her cut-off feet laid on the side, crimson liquid coming out from the shin. For now, Malty would survive, but it would be a matter of time before the cold will cause her to succumb.

"C-Curse… you…s-scu...!" The red-haired wretch struggled to say, before the cold became too much and she fell unconscious, but Raphtalia simply turned around, caring naught about her. The princess can't hurt anybody anymore and Raphtalia… relished in that. Keel expectantly looked shocked that her best friend would go this far. While they have killed before, they never aimed to do it with bloodlust. But Raphtalia… Just for a moment before she struck...

She radiated with hatred and bloodlust.

"R-Raphie, are you…?" Keel began, but Raphtalia cut her off with a smile and a nod.

"Don't worry. I'm fine…" The raccoon girl cut her off, but Keel didn't need her nose or her eyes to see that Raphtalia was shaking a little. Her hand was gripped tight in a fist. Whether it was from anger or from fear, she didn't know.

However, there was still the matter of Tact.

**.o0o.**

Tact struggled. He felt debilitated. Fragiler. _Weakened._ Something that "Urgh… How can they hurt me…? I'm reincarnated! I-!" The man stood up, then looked at his own HUD to assess the damage… and noticeably looked shaken.

**Tact Arusahorun Faubley; P̶̏̂̾͜r̵̘͚̹̅̀͋į̶͓̥̕n̵̰̬̰̾̌c̴͚͇̽́ę̷̲̈́ ̴̡̃͜L̸̪̞̞͌v̴̤͊ ̴̩̪̓̃̑100**

"W-Wha…?! Ho-How…?!" The man looked at the glitched text, gasping like a fish. His level was NEVER that low. How did it get that low?! His levels were higher than 300! Unbelievable! It shouldn't be this low! It must've been a glitch! A cheat! What could have-?!

'_**You… will be the new Hero. MY Shield Hero~.'**_

The voice again spoke to him in a sultry welcoming tone. One that spoke to him in a mild tone that seemed to calm him down. There could only be one answer. The same man who has cursed him to be this way for years. "Naofumi… what did you do to me…? I was… I was supposed to be..." He cursed while gritting his teeth. This shouldn't be happening. How could his power be affecting him?!

He himself broke away from the black-haired man during that fateful fight… He was given a destiny by his master! And yet…

'_**All I desire… is the ultimate power of ever-lasting darkness! You are the new, carved from the remains of the old who hath drowned in the yawn of the Void! Now fulfill your purpose! Claim their Seven Star Weapons! And claim their Cardinal Weapons too! Claim their power for your queen! For all shall bow to me, my harbinger! ME!'**_

"_Yes… my… queen."_

Tact grit his teeth as he stood up, gripping his next Seven Star weapon, in the shape of a hammer. "You… You killed her…! You killed my love!" Tact growled out indignantly, with Raphtalia and Keel readying themselves a third time. The two of them were getting tired of how repetitive this was getting.

"Again? Give up, Tact. You lost once. You'll lose again!" Keel replied with a shake of her head, and her gauntlets once again at the ready.

"SHUT UP!" He growled out, anger beginning to well up and overflow. A dark hateful aura began to form around Tact, with his Seven Star Hammer glowing red with anger. However, Raphtalia, with a bit of quick thinking and sympathy, snapped herself out of her stupor and pointed her sword at him.

"I didn't kill her. But she might die, if you don't help her." The swordmaiden curtly told Tact. Malty may have been a heartless bitch, but maybe that will throw Tact off. The prince's eyes widened and turned to the red-haired woman, legless, half frozen, and on the floor, just as Raphtalia expected. He ran to her and saw the frozen stumps on her legs, paling at the sight.

"_I… must… save her_..." Tact mumbled to himself, readying a fire spell to cauterize the two open wounds. It was like he was working like a machine, unable to stop himself, as his own eyes glazed over. Instead of blue, they glowed green, as his own eyes didn't see Malty. Rather they saw someone else:

'_**You will be my guardian… My protector… My savior…'**_

'_**My love…~'**_

'_**For you will serve me, Queen Malitecia of Melromarc, your creator, for good or ill, until everything beyond this pitiful world belongs to me, and only me.'**_

The same flowing red hair, trailing down to her lower back. The sharp green eyes. The dress. The black elder staff in her hands.

'_I will… protect you…my love...'_

Raphtalia and Keel breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't know what the dark aura was, and that got them thinking a little.

"You saw that aura around Tact, didn't you, Raphie?" Keel asked, with Raphtalia nodding.

"Yes… It was like Naofumi, except it wasn't as… suffocating." Raphtalia replied, before remembering her allies, friends and her master. "We have to help him!"

Keel nodded, but before they could even turn, the two of them felt the hairs of their tails rise in dread. Their heads turned, and paled at the sight of an inescapable wave of light coming towards them.

"_**TRAITORS AND HERETICS OF THE SHIELD DEMON! LET YOUR SOULS BE SAVED AND PURIFIED!**_"

The voice of the Pope made her gasp in horror. The light touched all. Filo covered her eyes, screaming how it burned. The Shadow grasped her head, crying out in pain, until losing control. Van Reichnott covered the frightened Aurora, using his own body as a shield against the light. Raphtalia and Keel gasped, stepping backwards, before covering their eyes as their bodies burned from the light, which consumed them fully.

* * *

**I'm baaaaaaaack! Miss me? Of course ya did! How was this chapter of the Original? It feels good to finally come back!**

**Yes, I finally discovered glitched up text. Sue me.**

**Yes, I'm adding more backstories in pieces and driblets to you. Especially about Malitecia the Tyrantress, her visual connection with Malty (it's pretty obvious), and just how OOC Tact is. I know that some of you take issue that Tact isn't the same as he is in canon. And this time, I actually read through the light novel to get an idea on how he operates. However. this one is much more different. He might as well be an OC at this point. I'm sorry for those fans who wish to keep it canon, but that is how the cookie crumbles.**

**Yes, this fight is extending for a long time. Fight scenes are not my forte so bear with me please?**

**Yes, the Vassal Heroes are much stronger than Naofumi without despair. And even with despair they do get an edge on him because teamwork, being outnumbered and _Despairfumi_ taking things in a depressing angle to the point of not even trying.**

**No, Malty didn't die. But she's crippled. Hella crippled.**

**Yes, someone is still gonna die. Don't you worry.**

**Yes, Faubley in the books got airships. Dunno about gunships specifically since I can't remember. I was tempted to throw another Final Fantasy reference there, with human experimentation and magitek soldiers from Final Fantasy 15, but it's simply not possible at this stage.**

**Thank you for being patient with me! Leave a follow or a favourite, or perhaps leave a review~? Those keep the story going!**


End file.
